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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, December 5, 2018
The Patriot, the Political Hustler and the Leader
DEEP in the arid economic desert of despair and decades of underdevelopment, there has been the discovery of the world’s most valued natural resource. This discovery is unprecedented and teems with the possibility of lifting this hitherto non-producing petroleum country from the ignominious status of being the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere to one of some regional and hemispheric economic consequence. This oily re-
ality will undoubtedly seep its way into every crevice of this nation’s social, economic and political existence. As the oily excitement gushes, how will the masses know who are the Patriots, the Political Hustlers or the Leaders? Patriots in the post-oil discovery-Guyana context should continue in their usual vein and put country first. They must be modest and should not be found dabbling in schemes of personal aggrandizement. Those who wish to stake credible claims to being
genuine Guyanese citizens who care for country in the oil debates must have a distinguished record of humble existence and above all, must be absolutely incorruptible. The discovery of oil ought not to invoke any materialistic spirit in love for country; rather it should intensify his/her commitment to protect the Republic. The past actions and ill-gotten possessions of those who cry ‘I love this country, therefore I speak’, are laid bare for all and sundry to see. There is no amount of
Shakespearean or Churchillian oratory that can hide the intentions of the political hustlers who feign patriotism. Those who genuinely love country will take a pay cut for country, take principled positions for country and suffer and speak out in the interest of the nation, even when it means he/she may go hungry. The political hustlers think of the next election cycle, patriots think of what obtains when he/ she has passed and just like Martin Luther King
Jr. they see the Promised Land and accept that they might not get there with the people. How will the masses identify the true leader? The leader must be a visionary who seeks to protect all of Guyana from the curse of black gold. He/ she must think beyond the
next political gain. An oily existence for the leader, should mean a need to think outside the narrow leadership box which has corralled this nation for decades and should be willing to compromise with their most passionate detractors.