EFFECTIVE COUNSELLING STRATEGIES TOWARDS CURBING CRIME AND VIOLENCE TENDENCIES IN NIGERIA

Yusuf Florence Adeoti; Imran Adesile Moshood & Yinusa Rashedat Olufunke

Abstract

Peace is prerequisite for stability, growth and sustainable development of any society. Unfortunately, Nigeria has been labeled as a crime ridden and unsafe country. This picture portends a dangerous signal for local and foreign economic activities and overall development of the country. Although, governments have made several efforts to address the prevalent insecurity and crime rate in the country, still not much enduring outcome has been achieved. Relying on the review of secondary data (about crime and violence statistics in Nigeria) and personal experiences of authors, this paper examines the negative impacts of crime and violence tendencies on growth and development of economic activities in Nigeria, The paper proposes proactive solutions, grounded in effective counseling techniques, to address the crime challenges which make Nigerian environment an unsafe haven for local and foreign investors. It is the strong position of this paper that counselling strategies such as rational emotive therapy, assertiveness training skill; and peer modeling technique have the potency to effectively inculcate positive values in youths. The paper suggests, as a matter of policy, that governments should shift attention from crime and punishment syndrome to crime and violence’s preventive measures, and make proactive efforts to address the root causes of major crimes through community counselling interventions.