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MUSIC COMPOSERS’ ROLES IN CURBING YOUTH 

RESTIVENESS IN NIGERIA: AN OVERVIEW  

 

Loretta Nkechinyere Okoro &  

Alvan-Ikoku Okwudiri Nwamara Ph.D. 

 

Abstract 

outh restiveness is a social phenomenon with a negative 

influence on national development and security. This is because 

the youths are potentially the greatest investment for a 

society‟s sustainable development. The means of curbing youth 

restiveness has always been a great concern in Nigeria and many 

other countries of the world. Studies on this issue have been carried 

out in different ways forming part of the literature review for this 

work. Through library, internet, observation and interview sources, it 

was discovered that at various points in time, different programs 

under different names have been set up by government and non-

governmental bodies as a way out. These programs have made some 

positive impact; in this regard music has also played some vital roles. 

This paper therefore, reveals some of the efforts made in the past 

towards solving this problem by government and individual bodies with 

particular attention to the vital roles Nigerian composers played. It 

revealed that through music arts, Nigerian composers have the 

capability of capturing the attention of the youths and making them 

have focus. In conclusion, the paper suggested various ways Nigerian 

composers could make more inputs on this issue.  

 

Introduction 

One of the greatest assets of any nation is the possession of human 

resources of which the youths constitute the majority. The 

Y 

Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA) Vol. 14 2020 



 
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importance of youth in any society cannot be over emphasized 

because they are the foundation on which every nation is built. They 

are the engine of growth and development; because, they provide the 

labour for production of goods and service to take effect. Their lives 

and character orientation determine the pace at which the growth 

and development of a nation moves. Expressing the importance of 

youth in national development, a Sahara report on the Nigeria Youth 

(n. d.) stated that: 

The youth in any society are the engine of growth and 
development;  because, they provide the labour for 
production of goods and service to take effect. And 
also, are the critical masses of people, whose action and 
inaction can develop or destroy the hegemonies of their 
society. For example, according to the 2006 census, the 
youthful population constituted over 70%  of the 
population. So, therefore, this quantum of population is 
great assets for the Nigerian state if harness and 
utilize in the right direction. 

 

Anasi (2010) also captured this point in a study she carried out on 

youth restiveness thus: 

Youth are the foundation of a society. Their energies, 
inventiveness character and orientation define the pace 
of development and security of a nation. Through their 
creative talents and labour power, a nation makes giant 
stride in economic development and socio-political 
attainments. In their dreams and hopes, a nation founds 
her motivation; on their energies, she builds her vitality 
and purpose. And because of their dreams and 
aspirations, future of a nation is assured (p. 2). 

 

According to the above statement, young people are recognized as an 

important segment of the society with the potentials for establishing 



 
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peace and security of a nation. But on the other hand, they can as well 

destabilize the peace and security of a nation if their mind set and 

goals are not properly directed. This is confirmed in Anasi (2010) 

which opined that:  

Young people all over the world are a vital and 
important segment of the society in which they live. A 
disciplined, focused and law-abiding youth can  create 
a bright future for any nation. Conversely, a lawless, 
indulgent and violent youth is a threat to a nation‟s 
peace  and security (p. 1).  

Peace is believed to be a predecessor of development. For a 

meaningful development to take place in a nation there must be peace 

in such nation. Conversely, if there is absence of peace in a nation 

according to Anasi (2010), it “means that no meaningful development 

can take place” (p. 2).  

 

The above expression is better understood looking at the situation of 

things in Nigeria today. Nigeria as a nation is facing lots of challenges 

both in national development and security. This situation no doubt is 

because of lack of peace and security. Studies on these identified 

youth restiveness as one of the major causes of the lack. Youth 

restiveness relates to negative attitude of the youths usually marked 

by violence and disruptive of lawful activities which in most cases is 

aggravated by  factors such as bad governance, lack of humanitarian 

and social welfare, unemployment, lack of recreational facilities, lack 

of quality education, inadequate communication and information flow, 

poverty, injustice, peer motivated of being a student, the jingoistic 

pursuit of patriotic ideas, idleness, negative indoctrination, religion 

fundamentalism, inordinate desire for material wealth, to mention but 

a few. The points raised above may have led to a Sahara Report on 

Nigerian Youth (n. d) stating that: 

Societies are not only recreated through the youthful 
population, but, youth are often referring to as leaders 



 
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of tomorrow. So their mindset and roles is of major 
important to the development of any society. ….no 
nation will experience development when the 
preponderance of the population that constitutes the 
largest percentage of the population is idle and 
ineffective. 

Therefore, it is of paramount important that the Nigerian youths 

need to be molded, motivated and guided to imbibe and develop 

positive moral values in order to harness their potentials for the 

achievement of national growth. 

 

In the past, various actions have been taken to control the 

restiveness of the youth. Some examples of such actions include:  

 Sensitization on skill acquisition programme in Rivers State 

which took off on 6th May 2000 aiming at helping youths in 

acquiring different skills for self-reliance and national 

development. 

 The Adolescent Programme (TAP), a pet project of the wife of 

the former Rivers State Governor, Justice Mary Odili that 

was set up in 2000. The project was initiated to ethically 

rehabilitate, morally re-orientate economically empower the 

adolescent with a view of inculcating leadership and responsive 

citizenship quality so that they do not become vulnerable to 

social vices. 

 The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) skill 

acquisition programme designed to equip youths with vocational 

skills in various trade. 

 The Schools Agriculture Programme which focuses on the 

provision of farm inputs to facilitate farming activities in 

schools, formation of students into farming clubs, and linking 



 
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participating schools to credit facilities. Also The Marine 

Agriculture Development Programme (Cage and Pen Culture) is 

a fishery training programme for youth in tertiary institution 

were designed and set up by Lagos State to fight hunger and 

poverty. 

 Ondo State inclusion of youth in government committees that 

are involved with young people‟s issues as reported in National 

Youth Development Report in 2009. 

 Organization of workshop in 2008 on “Peace Building & Conflict 

Resolution in the Niger-Delta Region” by the Federal Ministry 

of Youth Development in support of the Millennium 

Development Goals (MDGs) to re-orient the youth by 

inculcating in them the culture of dialogue and communication 

in resolving conflict. 

 Talaba Youth Skill Acquisition Programme (TYSAP) organized 

by the Ministry of Youth Development of Niger State. 

Aside the above mentioned activities, the Nigerian music composers 

have played holistic roles in this direction through their musical 

works. It is the concern of this paper then, to discuss the 

contributions of the various music composers in curbing youth 

restiveness in Nigeria. 

 

The Concept of Youth 

The term “Youth” according to The New International Webster‟s 

Comprehensive Dictionary of the English Language (2004) is “The 

state or condition of being young.” It is also “The period when one is 

young; that part of life between childhood and manhood; adolescence” 

(p. 1460). Sahara Report on the Nigerian Youth (n. d) described the 

youth as: 



 
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…a special group of people with strong stamina and 
passion for realizing certain set goals and objectives… 
youth share certain characteristics that  distinguish 
them from other generation. Such characteristics 
include, impatient for change, zealousness, radicalism, 
rebellions, curiosity, hard work, ego and ambition etc. 
……youth are the engine and actualizes of national 
development, if their mindsets are channels in the right 
direction. 

Youths are the ware house and pillar of a nation in that, they possess 

every quality needed by any nation to make a positive development 

especially when those qualities are properly channeled. 

 

Youth Restiveness 

Ejumudo (2014) asserts that a standard and generally acceptable 

definition of the term “youth restiveness” is yet to evolve despite the 

fact that it has “gained notoriety in usage, particularly in Nigerian 

parlance and has gradually assumed a global configuration.” He 

further defined youth restiveness as: 

…a situation of the inability of the youths to be still or 
quiet and difficult to control, especially when they are 
unsatisfied with something. It relates to matters of 
agitation, neglect, marginalization, and other feelings of 
dissatisfaction. It can also be viewed as the 
engagement by youth in agitation for the restoration of 
their right and dignity or self-seeking and criminal 
activities (2). 

 

Ogbeifun in Oromareghake, Arisi & Igho (2013:10) came up with 

another dimension of definition based on the fact that actor‟s 

motivation and orientation differs. Youth restiveness in this regard 

was categorized under three categories thus: 



 
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Restiveness based on actor‟s motivation and interest as 
youths engaged in genuine agitation for their right and 
restoration of the dignity of their group or race; 
youths engaged in self and criminal activities such as 
kidnapping or hostage taking in exchange for levied 
ransom; youths seeking revenge for oppressive attitude 
toward members of the elite class or a manner of 
responding to a repressive state. 

From the above points of view, it could be said that Youth restiveness 

relates to negative attitude of the youths usually marked by violence 

and disruptive of lawful activities which in most cases is aggravated 

by situations perceived as unsatisfied and as such, seek for means of 

bringing them to satisfaction  

 

Music Composer 

The term composer and musician are two words that could be used 

interchangeably. This does not mean that every musician is a 

composer. Musician is a general term used to refer to all in the field 

of music making. These could be a composer, conductor or performer 

of music and so on. Therefore, a composer as one in the field of music 

making can also be referred to as a musician in this context.  

 

A music composer according to Ukpong (2006) is simply “a creator 

who seeks to transform the society through music art.” (p. 98). 

Okafor in Ibekwe (n. d.) asserted that: 

A musician is a keeper of public conscience and as a man 
who has his hands on the social control lever, he guides 
the society; drawing, of course, from the collective 
wisdom and pool of knowledge and proverbs of his 
people. He foresees events like any poet, for a poet can 
point the way to come, even though the people following 
may not see it for the time being. (p. 162). 



 
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Onwuekwe (2007) opined that “The composer is one who puts down 

sounds systematically to produce music.” She added that “The 

composer bears a lot of things in mind before and during his 

composition. He first of all bears in mind the audience for which the 

music is to be composed.” (p. 28). Nwamara (2016:18) simply puts it as 

“one who creates or “manufactures” music.  … basically skilled and is 

vast in the handling of musical notations, musical elements and 

orchestration.”   

 

From the forgoing, it could be deduced that a music composer in this 

context is one who through his/her musical work (s) has the ability of 

molding, motivating and guiding the lives and character orientation of 

the individual persons in the society to imbibe and develop positive 

moral values for the societal transformation and growth.  

 

Thus, the contributions of the Nigerian music composers towards 

curbing youth restiveness could be discussed under the following sub-

headings: 

 

Nigerian Music Composers’ Roles in Curbing Youth Restiveness 

 Music composer as an information communicator; 

 Music composer as a motivator; 

 Music composer as an educator; 

 Music Composer as a Watch-dog; 

 Music composer as a character molder; 

 Music composer as a job provider; 

 Music composer as a promoter of peace and unity; 

 Music composer as potential builder; 

 Music composer as poverty eradicator. 

 

 



 
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Music Composer as an Information Communicator  

One of the notable causes of youth restiveness in Nigeria is 

inadequate communication and information flow. The youths need to 

have access to information that will enable them know their right in 

the society to avoid being misled. Anasi (2010) affirmed that  

“Nigeria youths as leaders of the future need to have access to wide 

range of information which will help reposition them to take their 

rightful place in the comity of nations” (p. 4). Music composition is a 

perfect medium through which messages are better communicated 

irrespective of the nature of the messages. Ibekwe (n.d.) had earlier 

expressed that:  

Music offers a perfect medium through which messages 
are communicated; even a message that is considered 
implicating, dangerous, hurting or abusive is conveyed 
through music without minding the consequences and 
provided it is aimed at bettering the condition of the 
oppressed (p. 168).  

If the youths have the knowledge that they are future leaders, they 

will avoid being used as thugs to destroy lives and properties. This is 

expressed in the music of Nneka (titled Niger Delta) where he 

described the methods of kidnapping and burning of oil installations 

by the MEND as a „blunder‟. The music as taken from Oikelome (2010) 

read: 

 …the youths take to the street 

Just to show off their anger 

I ask a question 

Is this gonna take us higher?  

…The MEND is just another major blunder 

Left with no choice but to grab the power 

Kidnapping just to get paid higher 

Claiming it‟s for the peeps  

Just to get their pains lighter 

Who is to blame? 



 
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The country turning darker 

Democracy couldn‟t make it any better 

It‟s time for a change 

People of Niger Delta. 

 

Timaya‟s music “Yankulu ya” according to Oikelome (2010) is also in 

line with the description above. In it, Timaya sensitized the youths 

that the consequences of killing and kidnapping are hatred and 

disunity among them. He advised them “to stop the killing and 

kidnapping …and engage in meaningful business ventures.” The excerpt 

below is the music: 

 

 …The way we dey today 

We got to dey love one another e 

We got to dey use our head  

Before we dey kill one another e 

…make una use una head eh 

Nigeria people are one eh 

… The way we be today my brother 

We got to dey love one another eh 

We no need kidnapping eh 

I don tell una finish eh 

We no need to dey fight eh 

Make una use una headi eh 

…Nigeria people are one 

…make una stop to dey kill 

My brother make una wise eh. 

 

Music Composer as a Motivator 

The youths sometimes need someone to motivate them to act bravely 

without violence for the good of the society in which they live. Fela 

Anikulapo Kuti, a progenitor of Afrobeat is one of the music 

composers who took a bold step through his musical compositions to 



 
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voice out most of the evil deeds of the Nigerian government without 

being violent. Although Fela was jailed severally by the Nigerian 

government because of his compositions but he did not take to 

violence rather, he maintained his stance. Examples of Fela‟s music 

that portrayed this point are his “Zombie” in which he condemned the 

brutality of the Nigerian Solders through the command of the 

Nigerian Government which eventually took him to jail. Also, in his 

“Sorrow, Tears and Blood” which he composed after serving in the 

prison, Fela described the destruction that took place as the armed 

forces were searching for him to take him to prison and in the later 

part of this music, he reprimanded our people for being afraid to 

stand out for their right. Below is the excerpt of the compositions: 

 

 
 

 

 
 

Nelly Uchendu‟s compositions “Be a True Nigerian and Make a New 

Nigeria,” according to Ibekwe (n. d). are other musical works through 



 
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which the composer motivated the youth to be patriotic, to love the 

country and to avoid being avaricious in other to make Nigeria great. 

Below are the excerpts of the compositions:  

  

BE A TRUE NIGERIAN 

Be a true Nigerian today 

If we love our Country 

We will make a greater progress 

All those things we talk about 

Will one day be forgotten 

Only you can make a great Nigeria 

Come let us make a great Nigeria 

Sacrifice to build a great Nigeria 

 

MAKE A NEW NIGERIA 

Be a true Nigerian today, do everything right  

Always be patriotic 

You will see you too can make Nigeria great  

Don‟t be avaricious, don‟t ever mislead 

We must contribute now to the growth of our country 

With good sanitation and excellent behavior 

Let us be proud now to make Nigeria great (pp. 167-168). 

 

Music Composer as an Educator 

Nigerian composers have also educated the youths through their 

musical works and sensitizing them to know the implications of their 

restiveness both on themselves and on the society. The music of 

Nneka and Timaya above are good examples on this point. Also, Agu‟s 

composition “Udo Amaka” is another song that could be used to 

educate the youths to always seek for peace and unity. Again, the 

various anthems (national, states and schools) and some marching 

songs that are usually sung in various schools are means of educating 



 
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and inculcating moral values in these anthems and songs to the 

students who are also parts of the youths. Below are some examples 

of the music: 

 
 

 
 

 

 
 

Music Composer as a Watch-dog 

Nigerian composers have played the role of a watch-dog through 

their music to create awareness of the goings-on in the society. 

Composer as a watch-dog according to Onuora-Oguno (2010) is 



 
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“refers to one that guard against loss, waste, theft or undesirable 

practice.” (p. 157). Okafor in Ibekwe (n. d) buttress this in the work 

“The Role of Music and Musicians in Promoting Social Stability in the 

Country” stating that: 

A musician shares a role of keeping a watchful eye on 
the goings-on in the society. He is therefore, a social 
critic and guides his people according to the prevailing 
norms. He foresees and he reflects. He has his hands 
on the social control lever. What it implies is that 
musicians are the society‟s spokes-men, the defender 
of the defenseless and pointers to social order. (p. 
169). 

Example of such musical works on this point is that titled 

“Government of Crooks” according to Oikelome (2010) through which 

Fela Anikulapo Kuti championed the message of the Niger Delta. The 

music read thus in pidgin:  

  All of us know our country                                                                                                                                                

  Plenty plenty oil e dey. 

  Plenty things wey dey for Africa. 

  Petroleum is one of them. 

  All the places that get the oil O. 

  Now pollution dey for the place O. 

  All the farm don soak with oil 

  All the villages don catch disease  

 

Through the work, Fela was able to communicate and create the sense 

of patriotism that reinforced the will of many other musicians and 

various groups from Niger Delta and beyond to attend to the 

problems of militancy and deprivation in Niger Delta. 

Another musician who created awareness of the goings-on in the 

society is Timaya, one of the prominent musicians of Bayelsa state in 

Niger Delta. The excerpt below is an example of the music in pidgin 

(Oikelome 2010): 



 
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Well e bin happen for Bayelsa oh 

Nineten Ninety nene oh 

Ten thousand soldiers for road iyo 

Ask them where them dey go 

Them say them dey go Bayelsa oh 

Which place for Bayelsa oh 

One village they call Odi oh  

Na im them enter our village 

And rape our girls  

And make us homeless oh {chai} 

Them kill our mama iyo  

Them kill our papa iyo 

Them kill our brothers  

Them kill our sisters 

And make us homeless oh… 

I say government them bad oh (p. 92). 

The awareness created by these musicians resulted that attention 

were given to some of the problems that brought about youth 

restiveness which actually helped to calm the youths of Niger Delta. 

 

Music Composer as a Character Molder 

Listening to certain musical compositions by the youths helped them 

to re-direct their life styles for good. For example, at the time Patty 

Obasi composed the song “Nwa Mamiwota” was a time when many 

young girls lived as if they own their lives as well as the world. As a 

consequence of their wayward live, some of them get into trouble and 

they seek for solution through various violence means. With this 

music, Patty was able to get some of them back into living good lives. 

Also, in the same line is Nelly Uchendu‟s music “Waka About” in which 

she advised young girls never to marry a “waka about.” Waka about in 

this context could be men with violent attitude such as armed 

robbery, kidnapping, prostitution, trouble shutting etc, who can never 

remain at a place or a peaceful environment. Through this music, Nelly 



 
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Uchendu created the awareness in men that marriage could become a 

difficult issue for them if they do not re-direct their way of life. 

Below is the excerpt of the two compositions: 

 

 
 

 
 

Music Composer as a Job Provider 

Nigerian composers have also addressed the issue of unemployment 

among the Nigerian youths through their musical works. In this 

direction, several youths have engaged themselves in the business of 

performing the composed songs through dancing as market or 

business promoters. Also, some have involved themselves in selling 

musical work like DVD and CD. This is confirmed in Ibekwe (n. d) who 

observed that: 

….music and musicians have provided a very big relief 
and succor to many who engage themselves in one 
aspect of music business or the other for their 
livelihood. Many young boys and girls have become 



 
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amateur musicians just to make both ends meet; some 
are involved in the sale of musical works. Even many of 
the school leavers have taken the dancing as market or 
business promoter instead of staying idle and causing 
trouble in society (p. 172).  

 

It is noteworthy to mention that Prof. Alvan-Ikoku Nwamara, a 

Nigerian composer and a Professor in the Department of Music in 

Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka plays an outstanding role as regard 

creation of job for the youths. He does this by co-opting the 

students into performances of music compositions of various kinds to 

keep them busy and help them earn some amount of money for their 

upkeep.     

 

Music Composer as a Promoter of Peace and Unity 

Another important role played by the Nigerian musician is that of 

propagation of message of peace and unity among restive youths 

through music compositions. Oikelome (2010) pointed out how Nneka 

in his composition appealed to the warring youths of the Niger Delta 

region “to stop the war and violence and embrace the methods 

employed by Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jnr.” The music read: 

 Stop the violence in the Niger Delta 

Remember there‟s a law called karma 

Sins of the Fathers was very popular 

Nollywood made a great flick, I admire 

But for real, our kids don‟t have to suffer 

For mistakes we made 

When we taught we was stronger  

Violence aint gonna make it any better 

Stick to the ways of King Martin Luther 

Civil disobedience might 

Make thing clearer  

Gandhi used it in India 



 
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And King in America 

Didn‟t do much  

But the future was certainly brighter 

Speak for the masses 

Cos we all brothers 

Mess the government who be making things tougher  

Just live your life 

And keep chasing that paper 

I speak my mind 

Aint got time for any haters  

It‟s time for a change  

People of Niger Delta (p.93). 

On the other hand, Kefee another popular musician through his 

musical work “Alright and Wado” expressed the hope that peace and 

tranquility will one day return to Niger Delta if the youths can keep 

positive outlook. 

 I bring you greetings from my country 

Nigeria in Africa 

Land of culture and heritage 

So ready for this new age 

… I have a dream that some day 

That under the sun we‟ll live as one 

We‟ll be our brother keeper yeh,yeh 

Niger delta we say wado 

…to my people in Niger Delta eh 

Praying for peace  

I‟ve got good news for innocent prisoners 

Crying out for justice 

Your day will come 

Things are going to get better 

I know they will. 

 

 



 
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Music Composer as Potential Builder 

Several musical concerts aimed at bringing out the potentials in some 

of the youths have been organized. In these concerts, different 

musical compositions, instrumental as well as vocal are usually 

performed. The concert often gives youth the opportunity to 

showcase their talents either as instrumentalist or vocalist. At the 

end of the concert show, some youths who are outstanding in their 

performances are usually picked up by some philanthropists who 

attended the concert and are engaged in meaningful activities. A 

typical example is that which Oguoma (2010) explained in a work 

“Owerri Traditional Music performance: A social melting pot for 

human development.” According to Oguoma, the youths are engaged in 

useful activities through various skills acquired by participating in a 

music ensemble called „Abigolo‟.  She added “Through the skill, the 

youths…become self-reliant. The youths are gainfully deployed, and 

their leisure time effectively occupied, so that no room is allowed for 

such vices and maladies as robbery, kidnapping and duping” (p. 147). 

  

Music Composer as Poverty Eradicator 

Poverty is one of the causes of youth restiveness as mentioned 

earlier. Music composers have helped to an extent to solve the 

problem of poverty among the youths through their musical work 

which they perform to promote peoples business and they are being 

paid for. They also perform jingles composed by musician which they 

are being paid for during election to get supporter for parties. These 

are sources of earning money for their up keep   

 

Summary  

Youth restiveness, some of the possible cause factors in Nigeria has 

been discussed. The youth as the necessary group for a nation‟s 

development and security has been looked into. The Nigerian 

composers‟ roles in curbing youth restiveness in Nigeria through their 

musical works have also been discussed. From all that was discussed, 



 
213 

it was discovered that Nigerian music composers have been able to 

some extent control the youth in their restiveness but more efforts 

need to be made in order to continue checkmating youth restiveness 

through musical works. To do this, the under listed recommendations 

are to be considered.  

 

Recommendations 

From all that has been said, it could be seen that Nigeria composers 

are in the fore front to curbing youth restiveness and contributing to 

national development in Nigeria through their musical compositions in 

this 21st century when Nigerian politics is experiencing moral 

decadence. To continue this work, the following suggestions and 

recommendations will be of great help.  

Nigerian system of education should separate music from other 

combined subject in the curriculum both for primary and secondary 

schools and make it a compulsory subject so that by learning music 

theory, the pupils as well as students will begin from their tender age 

to compose songs that will help to educate the society. They in turn 

by engaging in music composition will make a better use of their 

leisure time.  

 

Nigerian government should endeavor to invest more in training of 

music composers who will create more musical work that are aimed in 

curbing youth restiveness since it has been observed that music is 

the best means of communicating to the youths. 

 

More recreational centers should be established in various places in 

the country where youths are to be entertained by the composers at 

least once every week. This will help to distract the youths from 

carrying out violent activities. 

 



 
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Politicians should commission the composers to compose jingles to be 

used during election and engage the youths to perform them rather 

than encouraging them into violent actions. 

 

There is the need for composers to create more musical works that 

would sensitize the youth on the negative consequences of their 

restiveness both to themselves as well as society at large. 

 

More music students should also be encouraged to delve into the area 

of composition since this area helps in a greater way to control 

restive youths. 

 

Conclusion 

Information so far has shown that composers have made great 

contributions in curbing youth restiveness. It would therefore, be of 

great importance that they are encouraged and supported both by 

the government and individuals; financially and otherwise. Composers 

on their part should also put more effort in the production of such 

musical compositions that could be used for curbing youth 

restiveness. More works should be done in terms of job creation, 

poverty eradication, promotion of peace and unity through music.  

 

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