He is the man who came out of nowhere, like Guiliano Gemma in one of those Spaghetti Westerns that were all the rage in the 1960s. And like Clint Eastwood, he is the man with no name. Well, almost. Azruddin Mohamed may not be some lone cowboy on the prairies in search of truth, justice, and the American Way. But he is certainly shaking up things in elections-baking Guyana. If anyone had said to me that he, of all people, would have the likes of Bharrat Jagdeo and Anil Nandlall rocking back on their heels, the response would have been short and sharp: he?
‘Nah maan, caan bee he?’ Maybe somebody else, but not WIN Mohamed.
If nothing else, when the PPP brass hear WIN, their heads plummet into a tailspin. Heads to tails, this is how the new man has changed the political culture in Guyana. ‘Me, I stayin faar, ah doan have a head fuh heights.’
One thing is for sure, though: Mohamed has contributed to the whole local political playbook being rewritten. It was always PPP and PNC. For the first time, three other letters in the alphabet are now making the rounds, disturbing the atmosphere. WIN! WIN! WIN! ‘Jagdeo seh dat he gat all de votes dat he need in haan.’ For someone who has everything under control, he should give his mouth a needed rest. His lips tremble more visibly, and he can’t control the spittle anymore. See! How caring I can be!
There was a word that enjoyed much use in political circles until Rev Jim Jones sent it underground, made it unchic. It was charisma. If it isn’t charisma that sticks to Azruddin Mohamed, then what is it? The scent of walking magnolia? A touch of human drama? The arrival of a political supernova? A feeling of irresistible euphoria? I don’t know which one it is; haven’t the faintest idea if it’s all those rushed through a washer and dryer. But there is a US-sanctioned contestant and the Maduro-stained competitor appearing fresher than a rose and shinier than white rum or high wine. No matter what is thrown at him. The man has more lives than a political cat, and is that big, blue cat that sends shivers up the spine of the mighty PPP. Imagine a pussycat, the onetime PPP house cat, now driving the brotherhood of Jagdeo and company into flights of alarm, as though a menacing black cat just wandered across their paths. Superstition and sensation takeover in the PPP camp.
I still don’t get it, am struggling. There must be something to explain the mystery and magnetism of the man Mohamed. The ordinary folk of Guyana don’t come out in their numbers to hear a visiting thinktank swathed in blue. All the poor people of Guyana know is that their tank is empty, and that the PPP kicked them on their fanny when they pleaded for a little help in the last five years. Now from leader to minister run coming with buckets of cash and baskets of promises. From the PPP and Jagdeo’s perspective, it’s: ‘Let’s kiss up and mek up.’ Too late, too late, shall be the cry. As a kindness to the people who love to hate Mohamed (the PPP), I left out too little. Aw shucks, why pile it on?
Now there is Mohamed sitting in one community after another wreathed in self-confidence. He should get a pipe to complete the picture of total contempt for his former friends on Robb Street, Vlissingen Road, and State House. There is substance to that old saying: when best friends fallout, it is best for the little people (like me) to hurry up and get out of the way. It is why I love Guyana and the ruling party: from a secret family banquet to a public family brawl. Those are the best kinds, since all the strangers get a chance to weigh in from the sidelines. There’s a solution to the PPP problem with Mohamed. Stop paying so much attention to the candidate. Stop energizing a competitor with those high-voltage and high-profile assaults and batteries. There is only one party that is going to win (no pun intended, I swear) those types of encounters. The more putrid the PPP is against Mohamed, the more profound and pure, he comes across before the electorate.
Gangster, gangster, so they say today! So, what was Mohamed when he was with the PPP, a pastor, a fowl-and-duck doctor? The PPP created a monster and now Azruddin Mohamed has returned to become the party’s most feared terrorizer. WIN! WIN! From Temujin (Genghis Khan) sweeping across the Steppes of Russia to Azruddin (Mohamed Khan) sweeping the PPP into one of those presidential garbage collection bags. It couldn’t have happened to some nicer people.
