Literature review
p. 16-22
Texte intégral
1The study of juvenile delinquency or social deviance has been going on for some time, but there is a dearth of documents and/or information on the subject in Jos. The only exceptions are two baseline studies conducted by the present researcher. In view of this, a review of existing literature is presented along with an examination of the evolution of the modern city of Jos in order to place the present research in proper theoretical perspective.
Juvenile Delinquency and Violence
2The conflict of interests and desires is at the heart of every form of deviance and violence. Sociologists and other social scientists believe that freedom from restraint, basic human nature, the focus of power and its influence and the opportunity structure of society are, in varying degrees, factors which contribute to violence, delinquency, crime and social deviance. Thus, these factors, either singly or in varied combinations, are used to explain the aetiology, nature and patterns of the distribution of delinquency, crime and deviance.
3Some of the earliest criminologists looked for biological or abnormal physical traits to distinguish the criminal type. A number of biologists or human anthropologists, especially Darwin (1859), Lombroso (1876), Quinney and William (1977), posited that deviance is related to human physiology, physical stigmata and abnormal cranial features. In his pioneer work, the Italian army medical doctor, Cesaire Lombroso made his claims after examining the skulls of Italian ex-convicts supposed to have been born criminals. His theory of biological determinism, based on the distinguishability of criminals from non-criminals suggests that:
- The criminal can be distinguished from non-criminals by a manifestation of degenerate physical features, e.g., slanting forehead, large jaws and cheek bones, unusually sized ears, peculiarities of eyes, excess length of arms, left handedness and large feet.
- The criminal is a biological throwback (atavist) to an earlier stage of human evolution. This theory coincided with the rise of Darwinian thinking, particularly after the publication of the book The Origin of the Species (1859).
- The criminal cannot adjust to civilization and therefore will continue to clash with his society’s norms (Quinney and William, 1977).
4The concept of biologically determined criminal traits appears inapplicable to Nigeria where many criminals hardly show any trace of physical abnormality. In fact, some suspected armed robbers shown on NTA Network news on June 27, 1996 were robust, handsome and not significantly different from other law-abiding members of the society. Or what would the biological determinists say about the physically well-adjusted members of criminal syndicates who engage in fraudulent schemes known as ‘419’?
5The theory of biological/genetic inheritance further stipulates that the propensity to deviate and commit crime might be inherited or facilitated by genetic juvenile delinquent abnormalities. A study of 709 family members revealed that 20 per cent of them had been perpetual thieves and prostitutes (Haralambos, 1980). It has been argued that poor or anti-social behaviour patterns within a family could lead to criminality and that criminality could be genetic as well as social. It will be recalled that at a stage in the trial of O. J. Simpson, the prosecution referred to the results of genetic tests. According to a Voice of America (VOA) World Report of 14th July 1994, scientists have shown a strong connection between criminal acts and chromosomes. Taylor et al. (1973) pointed out that where an individual possesses an extra set of chromosomes like ‘xxx’ (female) and ‘xyy’ (male) instead of the normal ‘xx’ and ‘xy’, crimes of passion like prostitution, rape, assault, etc., could result. Because offences of this sort are very rare without secondary inducements from other factors like drug use, the reliability and consistency of such explanatory variables for violence are in question. Violence is a common feature of intergroups where people with varying social, economic, political, cultural and religious backgrounds co-exist and interact. Acts of juvenile violence and delinquency and violent assassinations in the Nigerian society, however, are not necessarily perpetrated by people with abnormal genetic traits.
6Gurr’s (1971) argument that violence and delinquent deviance or hostile behaviour should be examined using the ‘frustration-aggression hypothesis’ appears a more credible explanation of violence and delinquency. He noted that when goals and expectations are frustrated as a result of relative deprivation, overt hostility will manifest in the society against governments or individuals or groups. He maintained that governments are the primary targets of expressed hostility. As Dahrendorf (1959) argued, conflicts are at the heart of society. All role-associations have the potential for conflict.
7The psychological theory that mere disturbances in memory and thinking predispose one to criminality is questionable. Psychological theories which place emphasis on interpersonal and intergroup relationships as the basis for particular types of personality and character formation in individuals have, however, been found to be more useful to our analysis (Mead, 1918; Reckless, 1967). Weak ego, id and super-ego development must be seen as arising from the total framework of societal organization, norms, values and ethics. Thus, if a child is unable to develop a proper management system, a good ego, a super ego or conscience towards authority figures and property, he/she will be hostile to them. A study conducted by John Browlby (Haralambos, 1980) on the effects of hostile parental relationship with juveniles, noted that, in the case of his sample of ‘forty-four juvenile thieves’, deviance resulted from the lack of emotional security in their relationships with their mothers.
8Sociologists argue, however, that ‘psychotic’ personalities are by-products of the workings of the entire society. The structuralist (sociological) theories see deviance as a product of discrepancies between the goals which a society sets for its members and the legitimate means provided by society for attaining these goals. Zehr (1976) posited that deviance arises from the inability of members of a society to meet the desired expectations of the said society.
9Robert Merton (1938), the most acclaimed proponent of the theory of social structure, argued that the varying degrees of deviance are a result of the extent of integration of members of a society or group into the norms of that setting. In a stratified society like Nigeria where emphasis is placed on achieving success through material acquisition without a corresponding insistence on the legitimate means of attaining same, it becomes difficult to expect people to be governed by appropriate societal norms. A state of ‘anomie’ or normlessness ensues. In such a situation, different people in the opportunity structure of the society will evolve adaptive mechanisms intended to provide avenues of achieving success. They will thus attain the overall societal goal of material success, often through deviant means.
10One of the adjustments used to cope with the inequality inherent in the social, political, economic and cultural fabrics of society is the formation of sub-cultures. Hobbs and Blank (1978) pointed out that such sub-cultures have clear and distinct life styles which emerge from the dominant culture that opposes them. They argue that sub-cultures are easily known by their defined turfs or areas of territorial influences, names and leadership structures. Their purposes may differ, but all of them seek to be different from the norms of larger society. They identified street gangs and drug-addict sub-cultures as typical examples resulting from parent/child conflict. These groups are relevant in the identification of the sources of juvenile violence.
11The formation of sub-cultures, according to Braithwaite (1979), Miller (1958) and Wolfgang and Ferracuti (1967) can be based on outright criminal, conflictual, or retreatist intentions and purposes. As an adaptive mechanism, the sub-culture (or group) is formed out of the failure of youth to meet the role expectations in school, at home and elsewhere. The internal structure of such sub-groups is organized on the ability of members to outwit or outsmart intra- and inter-group members. There is a high spirit of competitiveness among members. Physical force is often used to maintain and sustain allegiance to the group. A university based research (Ishekwene, 1994) further underscores this fact.
12Shaw and McKay (1942) introduced an ecological variable into the analysis of the causative factors of delinquency. In their Chicago School of the 1920s and 1930s, they demonstrated that there was a positive relationship between the inner city or transmission zones and violent delinquency in the city of Chicago. Shaw and McKay observed that, the ‘down town’ was characterized by high turnover rates among a largely poor and migrant population many of whom were prostitutes and drunks and came mostly from broken homes.
13Similarly, Wolfgang and Ferracuti (1967) and Sutherland (1947) argued that the greater the degree of integration of individuals into the norms and values of violent subcultures, the higher the probability that the acts of individuals in that subculture would be violent. Thus, individuals become violent, criminal and delinquent in a number of ways depending on the extent of their interaction with existing criminal figures and patterns, and the internalization of criminal or delinquent normative structures. In other words, delinquent and criminal acts are learned through criminal patterns that are at the time acceptable to and rewarding in the individual’s immediate physical and social environments. This means that a lot of delinquent and criminal acts are learned, accepted, shared, rewarded, facilitated or enhanced through existing norms, values or role models. Role models are rewarders as well as reinforcers of patterned criminal behaviour.
14Kadon’s (1992) ‘culture of violence’ traced the history of contemporary violence in ex-colonial territories to the inglorious slave culture of the past. He argued that since the ultimate aim of the colonial masters was to rule by dividing and setting their subjects against each other, the contemporary culture of violence must be seen as a continuation of oppression and repression in the society. Kadon posits that this sets in motion the machinery for vengeful violence. Although he did not substantiate his position by relating violence to political repression, nonetheless, it is clear that violent crimes and delinquency, especially in the last one and a half years, have assumed a dominant role in the social life of Nigeria.
15Juvenile delinquency has just begun to receive closer research attention in Jos. A recent study of the residential patterns of juvenile delinquents in Jos, revealed that juvenile delinquency was pervasive and violent in nature. Its incidence, however, has not been effectively recorded nor has it been addressed. Smah (1995c) assessed the effect of media advertisements on the use of alcohol and tobacco by secondary students in Jos, and reported that students were influenced by mass media advertisements, e.g., billboards, TV, radio, newspapers and magazines. The study also compared junior and senior secondary school students in a religious and a secular school. The results showed that an average of 73 per cent of students in both schools perceived through advertisements that what they had inhaled, drunk or smoked was dangerous. According to Smah (1995c: 7), about 4 per cent smoked and drank alcohol. It was noted that more juniors (JSS2) drank alcohol and smoked cigarettes in the public schools. On the whole, however, less students in the public school drank beer or smoked cigarettes. First, the intensity of supervision and control differed in the two schools. St. Murumba’s College is a day school, while Government College is a boarding school. Second, the levels of upbringing in the schools differed. The stipulation against substance abuse in Government College was found to be stricter than in St. Murumba; and since in a day school students move between school and home, the chances of students ‘branching off to indulge in anti-social acts tends to be higher.
16Although the sample size of 189 for that study was small compared to the number of secondary school students in Jos, the findings pointed to one veritable source of violence among youths – the portrayal of violence on TV and video tapes. This ‘copy-cat’ behaviour was responsible for a sad incident reported in this study in which a six year-old boy shot his brother with their father’s double-barrelled gun while demonstrating a scene from a film he had watched.
17The French Institute for Research in Africa (1994) published two volumes on urban violence in Africa. Violence associated with hired assassins, ethnic chauvinism, religious bigotry and religious fundamentalism (one recalls the incident in which lives and property were destroyed in Kaduna over the refusal of the Shi-ite Muslims to accept the decision of the authorities of Kaduna Polytechnic, also headed by a Muslim, to expel four students suspected to be troublemakers.1 Armed robbery, extortion, rape, civil disorders, racketeering and gang warfare (like the ‘area boys’ phenomenon) among juveniles, stems from a crisis in the management of the social order.
Notes de bas de page
1 The Guardian (Lagos) 21 June 1996. back page.
Le texte seul est utilisable sous licence Licence OpenEdition Books. Les autres éléments (illustrations, fichiers annexes importés) sont « Tous droits réservés », sauf mention contraire.
The Frontier States of Western Yorubaland
State Formation and Political Growth in an Ethnic Frontier Zone
Biodun Adediran
1994
The Architecture of Fear
Urban Design and Construction Response to Urban Violence in Lagos, Nigeria
Tunde Agbola
1997
Nigeria during the Abacha Years (1993-1998)
The Domestic and International Politics of Democratization
‘Kunle Amuwo, Daniel C. Bach et Yann Lebeau (dir.)
2001
Informal Channels for Conflict Resolution in Ibadan, Nigeria
Isaac Olawale Albert, Tinu Awe, Georges Hérault et al.
1995
Urban Violence in Africa
Pilot Studies (South Africa, Côte-d’Ivoire, Nigeria)
Eghosa E. Osaghae, Ismaila Touré, N’Guessan Kouamé et al.
1994