A Well Oiled Machine? Linkages between youth violence, motivations, and oil rentierism in Nigeria

Abstract: This thesis is presented as an analytical synthesis of theoretical and case specific literature and statistics discussing youth bulge theory and its connections to oil rentierism in the case of two regions in Nigeria. The main method used for analysis was a combination of content and deductive thematic analysis of primary and secondary sources. The analysis of this paper finds that in the Niger Delta region of the southeast of Nigeria, violent conflict has rather obvious and direct linkages to the rentier state, while these connections are far more subtle and indirect in the northeast. This thesis also finds that youth participating in violent conflict tend to be motivated by need or grievance as opposed to greed, though it is difficult to specifically pinpoint one or the other, thus an additional approach has been employed to illustrate how these concepts overlap and interact.