Consequences - Breaking the negative cycle

His book has been described as a guide to understand gang culture and ways in which to combat it in a progressive manner - so does Emeka Egbuonu have the answers to solve Britain's problems with gangs?

Egbuonu is a community and anti-gang worker in Hackney and based at the Crib youth project designed to engage with youngsters from the area and empower them with positive thoughts and have ambition.

Having arrived in the borough from Nigeria aged seven, he experienced gang trouble in his early years but rather than fall into the cycle of violence, Egbuonu looked to make positive changes and make life better in his community. He set up a team, Gems FC using the power of football to bring youngsters from different areas to work together and create unity.

Two years ago, Egbuonu set up the Consequences program to equip young people with the confidence and skills to make good choices and avoid falling into gangs or how to move on if they were in one already.

Last year, one of his friends, 16-year-old Agnes Sina-Inakoju, who aspired to study at Cambridge, was shot by a gang member looking for rivals. He was moved to write about his experiences of growing up in a culture of violence but choosing to shun the gang lifestyle in order to make a positive change.

This week saw the launch of his book - Consequences - Breaking the Negative Cycle - seen as a valuable guide to communicating and connecting with young people who are vulnerable to being sucked into a life of gangs and crime.

As well as being explicit about the experiences of gangs, the book also aims to boost self-esteem and confidence and looks to stimulate ambition and aspiration amongst young people who feel they have nothing to live for and no chance of making something of themselves.

Egbuonu's book covers a number of topics, starting from the slave trade as well as looking into the breakdown of the Black family unit, peer pressure, stereotyping and racism, mixed with personal anecdotes and interviews and accounts of knife crime and violence on the streets over here and in America.

Consequences has received critical acclaim from the likes of Tottenham MP David Lammy and professor David Wilson, director of Birmingham City university's centre for applied criminology, who thinks the book should be on reading lists at the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice, adding it "fills a criminological gap". "It's fantastic," he says. "Communities need people like Emeka."

Professor Williams has invited Egbuonu to be one of the main speakers at Birmingham City University’s Understanding the English Riots conference on October 18.

As someone who has worked on the frontline in inner-city London and was on the streets to prevent youngsters from his youth club from taking part in the riots, it is time to start listening to the likes of Egbuonu, whose stories will give us a better understanding of gang culture rather than using words like "feral underclass" which is favoured by some politicians.

Picture: Emeka Egbuonu