I send you and the people of Guyana heartfelt greetings from Kingston, Jamaica! I have heard strong whispers that Counsel Nigel Hughes will vie for leadership of the AFC at its congress somewhere around the end of this month to my great happiness. Before I go any further, I want to make it clear that this letter is not from the standpoint of being a supporter of any particular party in Guyana (as I am not), but rather, my viewpoint from the vantage point of being both Guyanese and Jamaican.
Being born in Guyana and spending a part of my childhood there, coupled with growing up in Jamaica and receiving the great majority of my adult and professional experiences here, consciously and unconsciously pushes me to look at politics in Guyana differently. Therefore, I look at politics and parties in Guyana in a non-racial context and carry no “burden” of living in Guyana as an adult under any “emotionally distressing” government. Additionally, the aspects of politics that are self-taught drive me in a direction that one must vote for people and their abilities irrespective of race, colour or creed.
One might believe that based on my family history in Guyana I would automatically be a PNC supporter but I am not. One might also think that the same history makes me anti the current PPP but I am not. Once upon a time in spirit, I would have supported the AFC although never as a “card-carrying member,” because they were a hope for balancing and realigning Guyana’s political future as a true and real third-party force that was nicely “mixed” to keep the major parties in check.
The APNU Coalition based on their last performance, at the hands of the PNC and AFC, have pushed the electorate back to the Stone Age forcing them into a sort of “retrograde time machine.” The then-leader of the coalition Brigadier Granger, gave people across the political spectrum hope for winds of change, and the AFC gave people the belief that a third-party voice had finally returned to develop a strong middle road and give people and young people a party to identify with that wasn’t caught up in the ways of the old powerhouses.
However, we know what happened! While in office, they demolished the “new political energy” that was organically built up and that brought people to the doorstep of the coalition. I said in a letter published by Village Voice News in August 2020, that Brigadier Granger was Moses – that he was the one that needed to lead us to that change. Like the biblical story, Joshua had to take us the rest of the way! Joshua was and still is Nigel Hughes.
If I remember correctly, esteemed editor, Minister Nandlall, quite seriously said once that he needs the opposition to be an opposition! When a minister in a current regime pleads with the opposition to keep them on their toes, you know something is deeply wrong! I must say that I laughed hysterically when I saw the video clip because I was in total agreement with Minister Nandlall’s very cheeky comment! Therefore, my belief is that Mr. Hughes should not only be the leader of the AFC but also the leader of the APNU Coalition and thus the Opposition.
This belief is not in support of the attached political parties but in the leadership of Mr. Hughes. No matter which political party you support, any well-thinking citizen will want a situation where there is a sensible and strong opposition, to keep any ruling party in check, as well as getting good decisions from parliament as the highest decision-making body in the country. I see the matter of Mr. Hughes as being in the national interest as opposed to partisan preference! Guyana needs good balance in the political sphere, and the PPP needs counterparts on the other side of the aisle who can challenge them and keep them in shape for the greater good of Guyana.
Additionally, if that party/coalition were to somehow win, we need a sensible and charismatic leader who has the right mix of age, experience and appeal. So even if you didn’t vote for that leader because you support another or the other party, you still feel like that leader would help you and the country to get moving. I cannot at this moment see anyone who could do this better than Nigel Hughes. Whatever varying opinions readers might have of the PPP, they are a strong party and now need an excellent opposition led by a top striker. This is for the good of Guyana!
It is also time for Cheddi and Forbes’s unrealised dream of power sharing and inclusive government that involves all major political players. I believe Nigel Hughes is the man of the moment and for these moments in time. A pathway needs to be cleared for him so that we can get to the business of Guyana being a new, prosperous, socially balanced and great Guyana.
May the Almighty bless our Land of Many Waters!
Excellent regards,
Nicholas McDavid
