London: Notes of a Traveller
Brely into the third decade of this century, our lives have come to be relished in apparent contradictions. Charles Dickens will rather talk of “wisdom” and “folly” in one single season. Looking at the rigidity with which London is developed and loose social construction that pervade the same city, I will vote Dickens’ Tale […]
Brely into the third decade of this century, our lives have come to be relished in apparent contradictions. Charles Dickens will rather talk of “wisdom” and “folly” in one single season. Looking at the rigidity with which London is developed and loose social construction that pervade the same city, I will vote Dickens’ Tale of Two Cities any day. Certainly, light and darkness are coexisting. The growth, development and governance of London is extremely controlled more as a public good. This is as the failing capacity to transfer Elizabethan values and cultures is boldly apparent.
Londinium as the Romans called it, was established as a fishing and trading village, by the Romans at about 43 AD at the banks of River Thames. Londinium, now London, has grown into a huge metropolis as a dignified headquarters of Britain and the United Kingdom. London share similar history with other European cities. It is currently characterised by high land values, high-density built-up area and of course, high rents.
The Central London provides a typical view of a planned area. Clearly, the plan of the city is religiously implemented. The long building blocks with same height and paint only show a disciplined enforcement of physical planning codes. Building units are differentiated by mere Street numbers. The uniform paint, height and design only make one think of London as a group of people in complete “aso-ebi” in Nigeria. Among a group of women in “aso-ebi”, one may not even recognise one’s wife! I wonder how people recognise their homes.
The monotonous urban form and façade is supported by functional but apparently expensive urban infrastructure. Road hierarchies are well defined. There is a good and enforced separation of vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The separation enhances lots of confidence in people who walk on pedestrian paved ways. There is no fear of being trampled upon by vehicular traffic. Anyone who tries that confidence in Abuja or Lagos may have to be traced to Igbobi Orthopaedic hospital as a victim of keke-napep accident.
London has had gone through hard times particularly wildfire and wars, including bombardments by the Germans during the first World War. It thus has seen construction and reconstruction of buildings and infrastructure. There are lots of conservations so much that the city is dotted by several museums. The catch in this is that London has history and an authority in charge, the Mayor. The Mayor determines the growth and development of the city of London with a detailed physical strategic plan, acts, rules and policies. Indeed, the Mayor sets the city’s fabric and ensures its effective governance. No child is raised with this strictness in London.
In this sense, while the city develops with strict regulations as enforced by the Mayor, children grow into adulthood with minimal controls. Parents are forbidden from regulating the behaviour and values of their children. Enforcement of table manners can become a police case. Insisting the child greets the parents in the morning is certainly a human right abuse case. In this situation, each child sets own values, cultures and behaviours. A child grows outside cultural history. The outcome is the predominance of such values as drug and gun abuse by the younger ones, rape and the whole palaver of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Transsexual people. So, as Georgian buildings are preserved in a well-regulated urban development process, humans are free to transcend boundaries not exceeded in zoological kingdom. Definitely the human society has apparently failed to socially reproduce itself.
The urban development and governance in London are good wisdom that is worth copying and adopting. The enforcements of human and child rights without boundaries are extreme folly that developing communities should be wary of and kept far beyond arm’s length. It is calamitous.
Now to the winter strikes. From December to now, London has a good heat from a wide range of labour unions’ walkouts. Various trade unions, the nurses, railways workers, ambulance staff, postal services, teachers including university teachers and border forces strategically selected days for a walkout or strike. The days were selected for maximum impact. For instance, the Postal Services selected December 23 so that many mails are not delivered for Christmas. As at February 1, 2023, 500,000 workers from various sectors were on the streets away from work. The coordination and dedication without visible sell out by leaders is a good lesson for unionists in Nigeria.
The spectacular one is the union of nurses. The Royal Collage of Nursing (RCN) for once ever withdrew their services. Tens of thousands of nurses stayed off duty in 76 hospitals in December. During the strike, surgery and medical appointments were cancelled. In all, 70,000 medical appointments, procedures and surgery were put on hold due to strike. However, emergency services were left to continue. The nurses are demanding higher pay and better conditions of work. Due to the number available, nurses on duty said they “cannot go to toilet”. There is none to stand in for them. Furthermore, inflation was running at 10.7 per cent. The Nurses are demanding a pay rise by 19.2 per cent, that is above the inflationary rate. They are also demanding for the recruitment of more nurses to cope with work load.
The walkout that has high economic blow is the railway workers’ strike. The strike imposed a two million pounds loss, particularly, on the night time economy. Nightclubs closed and so the breweries and sex workers lost patronage and income.
Official response to strikes is the same with Nigeria. The Health Secretary, Steve Brackley felt the nurses had no reason to walkout. Yet, the Justice Shadow Minister described the government’s refusal to participate in negotiations with the workers as “unbelievable”. Most striking is the reaction of the Prime Minister who has gone to the Parliament to enact law that restricts walkout in some sectors! This looks like the reaction of Nigeria’s labour ministry to workers strike.
Nigeria’s labour unions, particularly the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have lessons to learn from the British labour movements. For instance, the unions should focus on needs of the members and remain united. In a walkout the unions should aim maximum disruption. Certainly, the unions can be selective in the services they withdraw at any particular time.
Really, London is a complexity of wisdom and folly. It is a place where wisdom is limited to technological wonders but foolish with respect to human dignity and cultures because of human and child rights. If you happen to be there, “go direct to heaven” and make it the “best of times”.
Yunusa is of Socioeconomic and Environmental Advocacy Centre, Zaria