Unemployment and Insecurity in Nigeria's Geopolitical Zones

Abstract

Discussions about the causes of insecurity are controversial with, a number of studies professing and 
counter-professing its linkage to unemployment. In view of this, this study ascertained the relationship 
between insecurity and unemployment across the different geopolitical zones in Nigeria through 
establishing the rate of unemployment in each of the 6 geopolitical zones in Nigeria, ascertaining the 
level of insecurity in each geopolitical zone in Nigeria, ranking unemployment rate and ranking rate of 
insecurity in each geopolitical zones in Nigeria. Using expo-facto research design, data obtained from 
National Bureau of Statistics (2020) were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including tables, 
percentages, pie-charts, bar-charts and graphs. While inferential statistics specifically Z-score, were 
used to test the study hypothesis. Result established that South-Southern region of Nigeria had the worst 
unemployment rate (34.66%) while the North-Eastern region of Nigeria had the worst insecurity rate 
(80%). Z test of hypothesis at 0.05 significant level affirmed that there is no significant relationship 
between unemployment and insecurity in the different geopolitical zones of Nigeria (1.500, 
p<1.960>1.960). As this study found no significant relationship between unemployment and insecurity 
in Nigerian geopolitical zones, it is recommended that further studies be conducted on ascertaining the 
relationship between illiteracy and insecurity in Nigeria geopolitical zones.