The Nigel Hughes apology and Guyana’s moral culture

Aug 18, 2013 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

Here are the words of Nigel Hughes as quoted in the Stabroek News (Monday, August 13); “I acknowledge there was a conflict of interest and I assume full responsibility for it.” Hughes went on to apologize to the constituents of the AFC as carried in the same news item.
Without debating the merits and demerits of Nigel Hughes’s involvement in the Sithe Global company, Mr. Hughes departed substantially from the prevailing culture of Guyana in his immediate public statement of regret. It is exemplary behaviour within the context of public irredeemableness. This is a country where people are not keen on offering public apologies. The record in this sphere of Guyanese life is extremely poor. This is why the Hughes apology needs contextualizing.
What about me? I consider myself a public figure. And I can anticipate the reaction of people to the contents of this column – look who’s talking. This is not true of me. I know in this life you are never ever going to please people who have fixed ideas, inflexible opinions, and for a myriad of reasons prefer diplomatic commentary to frank, no-nonsense analysis. This is the way of the world.
My advice to young people who are the future of this country, if they are going to stay in Guyana, is to be respectful, but call it the way you see it and never be too hesitant to apologize when you are wrong and please internalize an important lesson of life – some people are going to hate you, some love you, some appreciate you, some think you do not meet their standards. You run the risk of depression if you try to please all. You run the risk of depression if you are burdened with the criticism that comes your way.
My life as a public figure is filled with countless examples of the inexplicabilities of human nature, but I will offer just one example. Here are my words from a column that reviewed The Lion King staged at the Theatre Guild; “… the production was a journey into an ocean of talent in this country waiting to float into the skies for all Guyana to see. It is simply amazing how a poor country like this, without continuous development, absence of a substantial human resource base, a putrid city, run-down infrastructure and widespread poverty can produce such talent. If you saw The Lion King last Tuesday, you have to admit it was as if you were looking at a stage presentation anywhere else in the world,” (end of quote).
Here now is another section of that same article; “I don’t want to be harsh on Nakisha Narine who played young Simba, but my advice would be to work on voice modulation if she is going to continue in drama.” I thought these words were natural for a reviewer. No harm was meant. This is typical review stuff.
But here are the words of someone who responded to me in this newspaper. Titled, “Freddie Kissoon’s article should be thrown in the garbage bin,” the letter writer was annoyed at what I wrote about little Narine. She observed; “This article could have been written differently and should have congratulated all of the young people on a job well done, in the future, articles of this nature should be treated in the manner they deserve – thrown into the garbage bin,”(end of quote)
But didn’t I do that above? Didn’t I write glowingly about the performance? Should I repeat in this column my wonderful acknowledgement of the talent that was on display?
Someone didn’t like a small part of my review and felt the article should have been dispatched to the bin. This is life; people are going to be harsh on you for their own selfish reason. In the end you have to live your life as you want it. But never descend to the level of arrogance where an apology is beyond your capacity.
This is where Nigel Hughes’s apology comes in. It was offered without reservation and hesitation, and it should be a catalyst for the changing and maturity of Guyana’s moral culture.
You look at this country over a long period of time and in all spheres of life, people refuse to apologize. GECOM made mistakes, but we never saw a public apology. The opposition parties have done egregious things to other people, but we see no apology. In the business world, among the professional classes, in the judiciary etc., apologies are never forthcoming. The ruling party will never tread on the territory of an apology.
Speaking for myself, I sincerely hope I have not unjustly offended anyone and have refused to apologize. I honestly hope I haven’t done that.

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The Nigel Hughes apology and Guyana’s moral culture

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