Political leadership of this nation is in crisis. Political leadership in a so called democratic post emancipation small island developing state is under severe scrutiny. I am thinking that since the evolution of our nation state, there has been a question as to what are the elements that shape and reshape our thinking of what constitutes political leadership. Ask the school child if you dare and that old gentleman who sits in the rum shop in rural St. Vincent and the Grenadines. I did. They told me not what I wanted to hear, but what it meant for them. There were some adjectives and narratives that I cannot retell nor could those sentiments be expressed to the softened religious ears.
I will say this much, the current political leadership impasse remains conspicuous. I call it an impasse so as to capture the ideas expressed by some of our fellow citizens. I am compelled to write again, this time through sharing my thoughts and the thoughts of the National Liberation Movement. We will do so on a regular basis. No ringing of a bell in these parts seems to scare or awaken anyone.
It was not meant to be. Was it a time of awakening those many moons ago? Perhaps or perhaps not but it was at a critical time that such a phenomena was seen and heard in our land. There was no serious thinking about a political agenda. I remain resolute that the social ills under his leadership went awry. Earlier in my spiritual sojourn, I read in Isaiah 20 from the Bible that the son of Amoz was awakened to “.. walk around the city barefoot” to warn the people back then about impending calamity. Fast forward to more modern times, and one would naturally say that Isaiah was stone cold crazy! But was he? My arousal was not actuated by the pulsating bass line of ‘music in the brain.’
How could I forget those days when I marched from Calliaqua to Kingstown with the Constitution of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines strapped to my back and an extract in my hand. It is to that Preamble that I fixed my attention and, to which I must communicate to you:
“WHEREAS the Peoples of the Islands of Saint Vincent, who are known as Vincentians–
a. have affirmed that the Nation is founded on the belief in the supremacy of God and the freedom and dignity of man…”
But I must hasten to add that the aforementioned dictates that although the nation is not one of a theocratic nature, it is one that does not prevent SVG from becoming a secular state. However, secular or not, leadership, political leadership is an imperative for our small state and of necessity ought to be activated by a belief in the supremacy of God. Some refer to Him as Allah, Jehovah or Jah. True, the nation is not a theocracy and the objective here is not to issue such a call. Far from it. But in order for any political leader to be sufficiently guided on matters of state, the framers of the Constitution (the preamble thereof) must be applauded for penning these words that have run with the historical and natural development of this nation. Having said that, the question is whether there are lessons to be learned from other leaders of the past?
Ours is a nation that needs genuine political leadership that will inspire those who need to move out of the camps of ‘recklessness’, ‘greed’ and ‘bad-mind’! As soon as these words are read, you the reader need no further explanations. Andrew Roberts, the author of biographies of political leaders such as Churchill, Napoleon and others has identified several qualities that should serve the purpose of this exercise on identifying genuine political leaders . Mr. Roberts is the author of The Last King of America: The Misunderstood Reign of King George III. He is also the “Roger and Martha Mertz Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, chair of the judges of the Gilder Lehrman Military History Prize, and a visiting professor in the Department of War Studies at King’s College, London”. This was as researched up to the year 2019.
In the upcoming general election, as nationals we are bracing ourselves to choose the next political leader of our country at a time when small island developing states like ours need political leaders who must never get their hands grubby with ‘filthy lucre’. Among several definitions, this one caught my attention. “ A political leader is “first of all, a person who can truly (and not nominally) lead a country or large masses of people, unite and organize broad layers of society, inspire them with sympathy for himself, faith in the righteousness of his cause, his ideas.” We will return to that definition as the narrative develops in the coming months. Our nation is standing at political crossroads where the sound of the churning of incredible change and upheaval is audible, recognizable. Who is it that can be so positioned to lead us through these corridors of turbulence? Are there lessons to be learnt from others who held these almost sacred positions within the political arena in yonder pastures, not so verdant?
Roberts wrote of leaders who demonstrated such distinctive and distinguishable qualities such as “energy,” the “ability to plan and adapt,” having a “great memory,” possessed with “luck” (as I see it, the blessings of God), “understanding public sentiments;” “well timed unreasonableness;” having “steady nerves”, demonstrating “inspiring persistence;” “empathy” and “political awareness”. I would like to add this one for good measure and that is a political leader must be a humanitarian. To each quality I will return and address that quality more adequately.
There was a leader of our nation who was possessed with the quality of energy and some make mockery of him in their attempt at scholarly discourses. No copy book narrative could contain this once energetic leader of our nation. His name is Ebenezer T. Joshua. As a student of history at the St. Vincent Girls High School, under the tutorship of Mr. K. O. Jackson from North Windward, I was inspired to learn more of our political heritage. Even then, as a student of history, I held to every word in history class that was spoken by Mr. Jackson. May his soul rest in peace.
E. T. Joshua was a workaholic. As fate would have it, I am still learning more about the life and times of our Chief Minister E. T. Joshua as I sit at the feet of my biological father – John Horace Bayliss Frederick. In July 1961, Bayliss Frederick was gazetted as a Legal Assistant who had emigrated from Tobago. He claimed that he knew Joshua and that he was one of his Advisers. His words are captured by others who described our First Chief Minister as a “down to earth man who fought for the poor and needy.” Another sentiment was that “he died not seeking riches.” It was our First Chief Minister who built what we call ‘plan houses’ for poor people in certain areas, constructed schools and improved air and sea access to this country.’ It was our First Chief Minister E.T Joshua who fought for increased salaries for the people of this country in his day. It seems to me that leaders like E.T. Joshua had to be intrinsically motivated to serve their fellow citizens. To be energetic, one must be selfless in form and function. A political leader must be so concentrated on fulfilling the mandate given to him by the electorates that nothing else should occupy his mind. What I have heard and read, a political leader is not about any sort of ulterior motive in ‘advancement’ for himself at the expense of his constituents.
Can we say that of our leaders today? If not, could political leadership be nothing more than a fanciful phantasm that pervades the minds of the unsuspecting? Could it be true that an energetic leader is born and not made? I will return to another characteristic of great political leaders in my next submission if it be the will of the Lord.
