For the fourth day running, streets in major cities of the United Kingdom such as London, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and even in middle class suburbs have been over-run by rioters and looters, most of them young men and women. Quite a few are mere children as young as 12 or 13 years old. The orgy of violence being witnessed by the British public and the world is unprecedented, even for a country which has a rich history of endemic racial tension and inner-city riots. The sheer scale and effrontery of the rioters and looters, as well as the initial inability or reluctance of the Police to interfere with their activities has shocked the world. Even at this moment there are indications that other towns and cities will catch this fire of defiance and criminality by thousands of young people, in spite of the tough talk by the Prime Minister, and the Police. Britain, one of the richest nations on earth, has been shaken to its foundations by the activities of its young people, and by all indications, has been caught entirely off-guard.
The current spate of rioting and shameless looting and arson in the United Kingdom was triggered by the fatal shooting of a black man in North London by the Police. A protest by the family and members of his community against the shooting, in an area with a history of riots and a record of economic deprivation, degenerated into riots. Areas in the south of London soon took over, and thousands of young people, using communication technology popularly called social networking, quickly mobilized, wearing hoods and masks, and began breaking into shops and looting them dry. They then set buildings and vehicles on fire, while other citizens came out to watch, or ran for safely. By the third day of the riots, many parts of London were burning; tens of millions of pounds worth of property had been looted in broad daylight by young persons and children, and the Police appeared totally helpless to stem the tide.
Other towns and cities with large inner city populations and large black and other non-white racial groups took over. The looting of shops and attacks on policemen became more pronounced and widespread, and the British public watched in shock or in amusement as hooded criminals took over city centres for hours on end; or engaged the police in running battles. The Prime Minister cut short his holiday abroad to put together a response that hopefully will bring the riots, arson and looting to an end. In London alone, the police deployed 16,000 policemen who threatened to use rubber bullets to shoot at rioters and looters. As some calm returned to London by Tuesday evening, other cities like Liverpool were taking over. There is, at the moment, no evidence that the riots and looting will stop across the entire country, as young people and criminals have discovered how easy it has been to break into shops and loot and burn. These looters are not stealing food to feed hunger. They steal cell phones and shoes and other luxury items. They are not rioting over disputed elections, or rising up against dictators. They are Britain’s leaders of tomorrow, a generation brought up in one of the oldest democracies.
The events of the last few days in Britain are reminders that many of the developed industrialized nations are sitting on massive social and economic problems, such that a small trigger is all it takes to cause the type of conflagration which the world is watching in shock or in amusement, depending on where you stand in terms of current global conflicts in which Britain and the US are involved. The United Kingdom, and many nations in Europe and North America have suffered massive damage from the setbacks in the global economy in the last few years. Britain’s new government has pursued a policy of deep cuts in social spending and a policy of rigid economic management that have affected the poor very badly. The country has one out of every five young person out of job, and has the highest number of young people in prison in Western Europe. Its inner cities are breeding grounds for criminality, with very few opportunities for most young people. Nearly half of its children are born of a single parent, and grow up without the influence of a father, or a father figure. Poor young people live in a society that beams the affluence of a small but very rich minority to millions of poor people; and creates bitterness and resentment which keeps a class society permanently on edge. The British economy is not recovering at the rate required to limit and reverse emulative damaging effects on a declining industrialized nation, which has been unable to resolve deep racial and economic problems, and an emerging culture which induces massive alienation among the young. Other nations in Europe and North America must be watching events in Britain with considerable concern. In many ways, Britain’s problems are mirrored in France. Germany has its own brand of the mix of racial and economic problems, and virtually the entire southern European nations are living on the edge of an economic system which is capable of triggering massive social problems at any time.
There is nothing for developing countries, including many nations currently on the receiving end of the British military such as Libya, Iraq or Afghanistan to gloat over. The lessons from the streets of London, Manchester, Liverpool and many other British towns and cities is that all governments must remain sensitive to fundamental changes in their communities, including the existence of extremes of poverty and wealth. People who have little stake in an economic system because they are too poor or cannot even be employed will loot other’s property with little qualm. People brought up to resent authority as the cause of their low social and economic status will challenge that authority when they have the opportunity by engaging in mass criminal activities. Majority of law abiding citizens watch with amusement, or run for cover when the authority of the State is challenged by underprivileged groups, because they believe it is not their fight.
Nigerian leaders should watch developments in Britain very carefully, and draw the appropriate lessons. One of these lessons is that wrong economic policies and an unjust political system provide a dangerous mix that blows up sooner or later. If it can happen in an apparently affluent country such as Britain, its effect in our country will be catastrophic.
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