Youth, Electoral Violence and the Development of Osun State : Nigeria, 2003-2007

The research was inspired by the fact that since Osun State was created in 1991, it has witnessed more violent conflicts than any other state in Nigeria. This has generated the sobriquet of "crisis state" for the state among the comity of states in Nigeria. The conflicts that have ravaged the state since created are communal violence, chieftaincy conflicts, political violence and electoral violence with youths being used to prosecute the violence. While other forms of violence in the state such as chieftaincy and communal have been engaged in academic discourses and documented in scholarship, political and electoral violence have not been adequately discussed and yet, all other conflicts such as communal and chieftaincy have their roots in political and electoral issues in the state. Thus, this work exposes political/electoral violence in the state, the role of the youth in the violence and the implication of the violence for the development and democratic consolidation of the state.