Land of Many Waters: The River Nation- Fulfilling the Promise of One People, One Nation, One Destiny

The oil era has placed before us a moment of renewal—an opportunity to channel our new resources wisely and to cultivate a stronger, more unified sense of national identity.

We now have the chance to write a shared national story that is large enough to hold all of us.

For generations, our story was shaped by the narrative of “the two houses”—African and Indian—two communities forged in different historical crucibles, yet sharing the same land. Now, we can move beyond this inherited story to one we choose for ourselves.

Our founders gave us the perfect story to grow into, one captured in the powerful words of our national motto: One People, One Nation, One Destiny. The opportunity before us is to finally build the collective imagination necessary to make this promise real. It remains our moral compass, guiding us toward a more unified future.

To understand this promise, we return to our first shared truth, a story that begins not with oil rigs or political rallies, but with water. Long before flags and parties, the land itself shaped us. Great rivers carved paths through a vast, green canvas, and on their currents, our ancestors arrived. Some came in canoes, navigating the ancient arteries of the land. Others were brought in the suffocating holds of slave ships, shackled and stolen from Africa to toil under the most brutal of conditions [1]. When their chains were broken, a new kind of ship arrived, carrying indentured laborers from India who traded one form of hardship for another in a quest for survival [2]. In their wake came others—Portuguese, Chinese, and more—each carrying their own dreams. This is our foundational story: nobody began as Guyanese. We all crossed water to become so. If One People means anything, it starts here: with a nation of crossings, of blended resilience and layered traditions, of cultures that flourished because our ancestors refused to be extinguished.

After Independence, the old logic of division was challenged by the new ideal of a united country. While our politics sometimes struggled to keep pace with our aspirations, the motto stood above it all as a beautiful promise we could strive to inhabit. The vision of One Nation remained our guiding star, even when the journey was arduous [3].

 Now, the river of history has brought us to a dramatic and hopeful fork. The discovery of vast oil reserves beneath the Atlantic is a moment of destiny. The sheer scale of this transformation is difficult to comprehend. With over US$60 billion invested in the Stabroek Block, Guyana’s daily oil production has already surged to 900,000 barrels and is projected to reach a staggering 1.7 million barrels per day by 2030 [4]. This is not merely an economic shift; it is a geological event reshaping our society. When managed wisely, this wealth will give us the tools to write a new national narrative worthy of our motto. This is our moment to ensure that “One People, One Nation, One Destiny” becomes the living framework for a new Guyanese imagination.

To give the motto new life, we must embrace a story that moves us beyond the two houses while celebrating every part of our unique identity and honoring our historical journey. This is the story of the Guyanese Commonwealth, a civic space where every Guyanese has a door, a voice, and a stake. In this commonwealth, the motto is not a slogan, but a set of principles. One People means that belonging is unearned and unconditional. One Nation means that no group must lose for the country to win. One Destiny means that the child born poorest still receives the richest opportunities. This idea does not dissolve our cultural differences; it protects them by placing them inside a bigger room where fairness, dignity, and shared purpose are the foundation.

This is what the Brazilian writer João Guimarães Rosa called the “third bank of the river”—a place not on one side or the other, but in the middle, guiding the current. This third bank is where the motto comes alive. It is a commitment to truth before tribe, to fairness before favoritism, and to future generations before party victory. In a multi-ethnic state with sudden oil wealth, national unity is best fueled by a forward-looking vision. It must be built on civic ethics that the entire society can recognize as fair [8].

To turn this vision into practice, we can rally around clear principles that the ordinary Guyanese—the minibus driver, the teacher, the small business owner—can understand and believe in. This begins with a commitment to fairness first, where people embrace decisions because they know the rules apply to everyone. It is the profound understanding that every child is “we child,” and that the future we want is built on equal opportunity for all. This unity is strengthened by putting truth before tribe, fostering honesty and mutual respect. It means we learn to respect the work, celebrating merit and dedication by rewarding people for their effort and contribution. Ultimately, it is about a collective commitment to care for the yard, recognizing that a country united in purpose is the only way to build a truly shared destiny.

These principles are how the motto becomes something we live, not just something we recite. Guyana’s founders chose these words because they believed the country could grow into them. They knew that with a unifying narrative, our diversity becomes our greatest strength. Today, we stand on the edge of extraordinary prosperity, and we know that this prosperity, guided by a shared story, will lift us all. By reclaiming the river that carried all of us here, we can transform our motto from a historical inheritance into a guiding purpose. The rivers that shaped our past can now shape our future. By choosing wisely, they will carry all of us—together—toward the destiny our founders dared to imagine.

 References

[1] Britannica. (2025, November 9). Guyana – Colonialism, Independence, Culture. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/place/Guyana/History

[2] Guyana Chronicle. (2014, May 5). EAST INDIAN IMMIGRATION (1838-1917). Retrieved from https://guyanachronicle.com/2014/05/05/east-indian-immigration-1838-1917/

[3] ROAPE. (2022, May 5). A difficult return – race, class, and politics in Rodney’s Guyana. Retrieved from https://roape.net/2022/05/05/a-difficult-return-race-class-and-politics-in-rodneys-guyana/

[4] OilNOW. (2025, November 12). Exxon hits 900,000 barrels of oil per day in Guyana as Yellowtail reaches full capacity. Retrieved from https://oilnow.gy/featured/exxon-hits-900000-barrels-of-oil-per-day-in-guyana-as-yellowtail-reaches-full-capacity/

[5] Wikipedia. (n.d.). Economy of Guyana. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Guyana

[6] Reuters. (2025, January 17). Oil output, exports drove Guyana economy’s growth of 43.6% in 2024. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-output-exports-drove-guyana-economys-growth-436-2024-2025-01-17/

[7] The Economist Intelligence Unit. (n.d.). Democracy Index. Retrieved from https://www.eiu.com/n/campaigns/democracy-index-2023/

[8] U.S. Department of State. (2025). 2025 Investment Climate Statements: Guyana. Retrieved from https://www.state.gov/reports/2025-investment-climate-statements/guyana

[9] Guyana Chronicle. (2025, February 22). Beyond ethnic divides: Guyana’s path to true social cohesion. Retrieved from https://guyanachronicle.com/2025/02/22/beyond-ethnic-divides-guyanas-path-to-true-social-cohesion/

Terrence Blackman is Professor and Chair of the Department of Mathematics at Medgar Evers College, CUNY, and a frequent contributor to the Guyana Business Journal on matters of politics, economics, and social development.

Guyana Business Journal
Website: https://guyanabusinessjournal.com
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