For many of us, Britain existed less as a country than as an aspiration. That is why my first visit to London years ago came as such a surprise. Instead of the futuristic metropolis I had imagined, I found what felt like one giant open air museum that had made a deliberate decision to remain untouched by modernity. It almost seemed as though, in the long battle for the soul of England, the Luddites had won.
Keir Starmer’s planned departure from No. 10 Downing Street after barely two years in office represents yet another dramatic turn in Britain’s increasingly volatile political landscape. Since the Brexit referendum in 2016, the King’s country has witnessed an unprecedented parade of prime ministers: David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak, and Keir Starmer.
Each tenure was disrupted by a distinct combination of political turbulence, internal party revolt, economic pressures, or electoral disappointment. For a nation whose political system was once synonymous with continuity and stability, the pace of leadership turnover has been unprecedented.
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To me, these changes reinforce a timeless reality: no system of governance possesses an automatic claim to superiority. Whether it is the Westminster parliamentary tradition, presidential democracy, or any other constitutional framework, the effectiveness of a system ultimately depends on the character, competence, and vision of the individuals entrusted with its stewardship. Institutions may establish boundaries and safeguards, but they cannot manufacture wisdom, integrity, or courage. In the final analysis, nations are shaped not merely by the structures they inherit, but by the quality of those who operate them.
If you attended a Nigerian university in the 1980s or even earlier, you could not have escaped the mystique of the word “Jand.”
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“The guy dey Jand.”
“My brother don enter Jand.”
“Na janded guy.”
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The word carried an almost mythical quality. Though it could loosely refer to the Western world, in everyday Nigerian parlance, Jand almost always meant England. It represented arrival. It was a shorthand for privilege, sophistication, and success.
The janded student occupied a different social universe. During the long vacation, while the rest of us visited uncles and aunts, hoping that a relative might offer some financial assistance before the new academic session, the janded guy lived a different reality. He jetted off to London, often secured a summer job, and returned with loads of cash, at least by university student standards.
But money was only part of the mythology. Most of the janded students owned cars that they drove around campus, while the rest of us squeezed into overcrowded buses. They wore recognisable designer labels. Their sneakers carried real brand names, instead of imitations. They returned from holidays carrying gadgets nobody else had ever seen. And, naturally, they got all the girls.
For many of us, Britain existed less as a country than as an aspiration. That is why my first visit to London years ago came as such a surprise. Instead of the futuristic metropolis I had imagined, I found what felt like one giant open air museum that had made a deliberate decision to remain untouched by modernity. It almost seemed as though, in the long battle for the soul of England, the Luddites had won.
Street after street is lined with soot stained Victorian brick buildings, centuries old churches, narrow roads, ornate chimneys, slate roofs, and decorative columns that appear old enough to surrender under the weight of the next heavy rainfall. Coming from the United States, particularly a city like Houston, where modernisation often means demolishing yesterday’s structures to make room for tomorrow’s skyline, London can feel frozen in time. Yet, as with many first impressions, appearances can be misleading.
Britain today is not the economic colossus it once was. Since the global financial crisis of 2008, the country has struggled with sluggish productivity, weak economic growth, rising housing costs, strained public services, and aging infrastructure. Brexit introduced additional economic headwinds, while many rail stations, roads, and public housing outside central London visibly reflect years of underinvestment.
Behind those weathered Victorian facades exist homes and buildings that are unmistakably products of the twenty first century. Beneath the historic exteriors lie high speed digital infrastructure, underfloor heating, modern plumbing systems, carefully engineered double glazed windows designed to preserve traditional appearances, sophisticated kitchens, and interiors that rival the finest contemporary developments anywhere in the world.
London’s genius is that it has learnt to conceal modernity behind the dignity of history. It wears the past on its exterior, while quietly embracing the future within.
That contrast reveals something fundamental about the British national character. Unlike America, where progress is frequently associated with reinvention, demolition, and replacement, Britain has elevated preservation into a cultural philosophy. Americans often ask, “How do we build something new?” The British are more likely to ask, “How do we protect what has endured?”
A glass and steel skyscraper rising among centuries old Victorian terraces may represent innovation to some, but to many Londoners, it risks appearing less like progress and more like an assault on architectural memory. The British relationship with history is not merely sentimental; it is almost philosophical. The past is not viewed as an obstacle to the future but as a foundation upon which the future must be carefully constructed.
There is something profoundly admirable about a society that refuses to discard its inheritance simply because it has aged.
Yet admiration does not require the abandonment of honest inquiry.
Britain today is not the economic colossus it once was. Since the global financial crisis of 2008, the country has struggled with sluggish productivity, weak economic growth, rising housing costs, strained public services, and aging infrastructure. Brexit introduced additional economic headwinds, while many rail stations, roads, and public housing outside central London visibly reflect years of underinvestment.
This presents one of history’s most striking ironies. The British Empire became the largest the world has ever known, drawing enormous wealth from colonies across Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and elsewhere. Resources, labour, and commerce from distant lands helped finance Britain’s extraordinary rise and fuelled the Industrial Revolution.
Yet the nation that once projected unrivalled economic power across the globe now wrestles with persistent questions about growth, competitiveness, and living standards. It raises an uncomfortable thought.
The ability of Britain to summon that same confidence to renew its economy in the twenty first century may determine whether “Great” remains merely part of the name of a nation resting on its laurels or continues to define its future.
Did centuries of imperial dominance create a sense of permanence that dulled the urgency to reinvent? Did easy access to imperial wealth over generations reduce the pressure to innovate with the same intensity demanded of countries that had no colonies to subsidise their ambitions?
History offers no simple answers.
Britain’s story, however, cannot be reduced to decline. It remains a global powerhouse in higher education, finance, biomedical research, artificial intelligence, aerospace, law, and the creative industries. London continues to stand among the world’s most influential financial and cultural capitals. To suggest that Britain ceased innovating would be both unfair and inaccurate. The more nuanced question is whether the psychological and economic transition from empire to modern nationhood remains incomplete.
Portugal presents another intriguing comparison. Like Britain, Portugal once built a vast overseas empire whose wealth flowed back to Europe. Today, while it has made meaningful progress in recent years, it has spent decades confronting economic challenges that appear strangely disproportionate to its glorious imperial past. History appears reluctant to guarantee prosperity long after empire has faded. Perhaps that is history’s cautionary tale.
No civilisation, however dominant, receives a permanent exemption from economic gravity. Wealth accumulated through conquest can elevate a nation for centuries, but lasting prosperity ultimately depends on continual innovation, productivity, sound institutions, and the ability to adapt.
Despite these contradictions, I found myself liking England. After more than two decades living in America, London’s rhythm felt refreshingly human. People seemed less hurried. Conversations came more easily. There was a quiet civility in everyday interactions. Modesty appeared almost like a national virtue. Flashiness was not admired nearly as much as understatement.
The British seem comfortable allowing substance to speak louder than spectacle. Perhaps that is why London leaves visitors with conflicting emotions. It is at once magnificent and worn, proud yet understated, ancient but surprisingly modern beneath the surface.
Maybe Jand was never about glitter after all. Maybe its greatest luxury was never wealth, but continuity: the confidence of a society secure enough to preserve yesterday while quietly adapting to tomorrow.
The ability of Britain to summon that same confidence to renew its economy in the twenty first century may determine whether “Great” remains merely part of the name of a nation resting on its laurels or continues to define its future.
Osmund Agbo is a medical doctor and author. His works include Black Grit, White Knuckles: The Philosophy of Black Renaissance and the novel The Velvet Court: Courtesan Chronicles. His most recent publications, Pray, Let the Shaman Die and Ma’am, I Do Not Come to You for Love, have just been released.
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