Nigel Hughes, Henry Jeffrey and Henry’s bucket

Sep 11, 2014 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

Do you remember the song below that was made famous by Harry Belafonte? I found it relevant after reading Henry Jeffrey’s critique of the politics of Nigel Hughes.

There’s a hole in the bucket, dear Liza,
Then mend it, dear Henry.
With what shall I mend it, dear Liza
With a straw, dear Henry
The straw is too long, dear Liza
Then cut it, dear Henry
With what shall I cut it, dear Liza
With a knife, dear Henry
The knife is too dull, dear Liza
Then sharpen it, dear Henry
On what shall I sharpen it, dear Liza
On a stone, dear Henry
The stone is too dry, dear Liza
Well wet it, dear Henry
With what shall I wet it, dear Liza
Try water, dear Henry
In what shall I fetch it, dear Liza,
In a bucket, dear Henry
There’s a hole in my bucket, dear Liza
Use your head, then! dear Henry

Commenting on Nigel Hughes for the prime ministerial slot in an AFC ticket for the upcoming general elections, Dr. Henry Jeffrey thinks that Hughes’s profile will be problematic because of the Amaila Falls thing and the story of the foreman in the Lusignan massacre trial.
“Many believe that Hughes speaks about constitutional reform because he finds the subject attractive to African Guyanese but there are no visible signs that he is fighting hard for them in the AFC,” Jeffrey said.
First a word about Jeffrey. If Hughes’s political profile is problematic then surely Jeffrey’s profile was in such a terrible mess that you wonder in the context of Guyana’s volcanic political and ethnic divide how he became a political commentator for one of the leading independent newspapers in Guyana.
In Guyana, Jeffrey’s profile as an independent columnist is surely a problematical one. And because of this, it calls into question the soundness, moral input and political plausibility in his commentaries. Henry Jeffrey was a Cabinet Minister for eighteen years serving for eleven years under Bharrat Jagdeo. Jeffrey is of course, as most Guyanese may think, is the twin of Mr. Ralph Ramkarran. What a combination.
Ramkarran served the PPP leadership for over forty years. Now Ramkarran and Jeffrey are columnists who inform Guyanese on the natural tendencies of political and ethnic depravities that inhere in the PPP.
Ramkarran is yet to tell us about why he left the PPP. Jeffrey is still to do couple (just a tine few) columns on the roads of destruction he saw in those eighteen years.
The man is afraid of that topic more than the advent of Ebola. Let us examine some contentious critiques of Hughes that Jeffrey described.
One is that “many believe” that Hughes is just sprouting about constitutional reform because he knows Africans want to hear this. Who are these “many.” Hughes enjoys a healthy relation with perhaps all the major African rights organizations (ACDA, Cuffy 250, Ghana Day Committee, 1823 Coalition etc) and is always on their lists of speakers on the African condition in Guyana.
Part of my praxis is deeply connected to the struggle for African rights and I see a deep respect for Hughes among African Guyanese. I don’t know of any activist in the major African rights organizations that believe Hughes talk about constitutional reform as the politics of convenience as Jeffrey implies.
In fact, social activist, Leonard Craig said on Chris Ram television show that the PNC leadership sees Hughes as a rival for the support of African Guyanese.
Jeffrey went on to add, there are no visible signs that Hughes is fighting hard for African Guyanese inside the AFC. This criticism here is bewildering. Jeffrey must have some insider in the AFC that gives him news about Hughes’s performance in the AFC.
I take the liberty of saying that some personal friends of mine reside in the AFC and there is no such suspicion about Hughes in the AFC. But what “visible signs” is Jeffrey talking about? Ask any journalist, commentator or political activist in Guyanese and he/she will tell you that the most active voice in the AFC for African rights among African leaders in the AFC is Nigel Hughes
Finally, Jeffrey flays the AFC for going it alone with a Nagamootoo/Hughes ticket. He wants an APNU-AFC unity slate for the elections. This is non-starter from the beginning. An election coalition of AFC with APNU could dislodge the PPP with a majority victory but it requires three factors; a rainbow entity; a brand new name and a Nagamootoo presidential candidacy. PNC stalwarts won’t buy it. Henry is not using his head and his bucket has more holes than a basket.

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Nigel Hughes, Henry Jeffrey and Henry’s bucket

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