Journal of African Studies and Sustainable Development

This study investigated factors militating against national integration as expressed by youths in Oyo State, Nigeria. Descriptive survey design was employed in this study. Multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select 403 respondents in Oyo State. A research instrument, titled:”Factors Militating against National Integration Questionnaire (FMANIQ)” was used to collect data from the respondents. The content validity was done by five lecturers from the Department of Social Work at the University of Ibadan and the reliability was ascertained by test-retest method with coefficient of 0.78. The data collected were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics at 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that; unemployment, youth restiveness, media influence promoting division, religious intolerance, social discrimination, socioeconomic disparities, historical grievances, environmental degradation, lack of access to basic services like healthcare, electricity, sanitation and education, lack of intercultural dialogue were among the major factors militating against national integration as expressed by youths in Oyo State. Further findings showed that there were no significant differences in the factors militating against national integration as expressed by youths in Oyo State based on gender and age. However, there was a significant difference in the factors militating against national integration as expressed by youths in Oyo State based on religion. It was recommended that; youths should be empowered with skills for employment through government-invested development programmes, tackling unemployment and fostering national integration. Guidance counsellors, in partnership with the government, non governmental organisations (NGOs), and other key stakeholders, should organise seminars and workshops to identify and address challenges militating against national integration among youths in Oyo State and the entire Nigeria.

Open Full Text (PDF)