EDITOR, The Tribune

I always have mixed feelings when tributes pour in for prominent persons in our society, particularly former politicians who are recently deceased. On the one hand there are glowing reports of their accomplishments and successes, their love for God, family and country and their impeccable character and on the other hand, there is the truth.

All of us as humans are flawed in one way or another, but there has to be a certain amount of honesty in the discussion so that revisionists will not write the history they want future generations to believe, allowing what is handed down to be more propaganda than fact. Although we must be respectful, the time is long past when people can live like the devil in life and have the glowing report of angels in death.

In the not-too-distant past, Black Bahamians were oppressed and downtrodden, denied opportunities for education and advancement in this country simply because of their race. These men and women experienced genuine wrongs they wanted to correct so that life could be better for their children. Through persistence they triumphed and the black majority were handed the reins of power and the right to self determination. The biblical wisdom of why the slave should not become master has been experienced by every generation of Bahamian with open eyes since then.

For while the old masters were gone, the myopic new masters made sure you knew who was in control with subtlety, not with the ferocity of their counterparts in places like Haiti or many countries across Africa.

Bahamians raised with a stronger sense of right and wrong with moral values now foreign to many young Bahamians today, became corrupted by the vices of power, with its carnal benefits and wealth, creating a political tribalism that superseded patriotism.

It became more important to be PLP or FNM than to want what was simply best for the country. And so a new generation of Bahamian oligarchs emerged, people using political power to control and victimise opponents while simultaneously enriching themselves and their inner circles through their varied business interests. These ones became spin masters, adept at saying one thing to the people while under the table deals ensured that future generations of their families had no material lack. ‘Who your people is’ became more important in seeking a job or getting a contract than your actual qualifications, causing many of the country’s brightest minds not to return home!

Many nursed and grew fat at the teat of the public treasury and others, like the tentacles of an octopus, had hands in many different ventures. Conflicts of interest were only a problem if you were not as well connected as they were. Politics became a game, not about nation building, but self enrichment and control. This is obvious because while people brokered poor deals that indebted this country, they had tremendous business acumen brokering deals for themselves and the interested parties they represented.

It is for these and other reasons that we have a country with an amassed debt of $8 billion without any tangible evidence of where the money has been spent, except a bloated civil service. If there was a functional educational, healthcare or efficient judicial system at least we could point to something.

Instead we live in a country where a hastily assembled group of seafaring citizens can perform a task with greater skill and efficiency than a military organisation tasked marine operations and the protection of our borders.

The truth is, the ineptness, corruption and inefficiencies we live with daily IS the aggregate vision of the political class which has members both living and dead. The truth is, this country could have been better off if that is what the ruling class truly wanted, but they don’t.

The potential of this country has been squandered by persons who used their energies to enrich themselves to the detriment of all others. If they truly loved this country and its people and used the same energy to build this country as their personal empires, we would all be the better off for it. For even God Himself took note when men, united in purpose, undertook the task to build the tower of Babel. The truth is, the ruins of the nation we live in is the unfortunate legacy of many some have ironically called “nation builders”.

JB

Nassau

November 19, 2018