All Guyanese politicians should watch that Obama interview

Jan 17, 2017 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

Barack Obama gave his final interview as president to 60 MINUTES. It was aired last Sunday evening. There are parts of that programme that every politician in government and those aspiring to political office should pay keen attention to. Obama told Steve Croft that he welcomes fresh legs in the White House, going on to say two terms were sufficient.
Here in Guyana, the obsession with staying in office is literally insane. There is a desire that is sick and unhealthy in this country to remain in office, whether public or private, till the end of time. Obama was specific and definite – you need the newness of person. There are no scientific laws that govern psychology and human behaviour; in fact, Sigmund Freud was hesitant in accepting that there is a definite process called human nature. He felt there are no absolute laid down characteristics known as human nature.
Even if there aren’t the laws of science in human nature, there are trends that have been observed over thousands of years of a pattern that has emerged in human psychology. Once you remain in a position where you have to make decisions for other humans, you will fall into malaise, mediocrity, tiredness, resignation, unconcern, slowness etc with the passage of long time in office.
It is not a scientific law, but is a graphic reality that has been with civilized society very, very long ago. A nation’s leader, an army’s commander, a bank’s CEO will not be a quick thinker and an astute strategist as they were 20 years ago when they were at the top of their game.
In this country, the most feared thing is not a monster but a natural process called term limits. People do not want to put term limits in their organization’s constitution. The PPP has none. The PNC has none. The now defunct WPA never had term limits. I have now learned that it is not a binding instrument in the constitution of the Alliance For Change.
There was a big public quarrel between the Guyana Olympics Association and two journalists from this newspaper over the indeterminate tenure of Mr. K. Juman Yassin. That body does not recognize term limits. It is the same for every sports organization in Guyana except lawn tennis.
David Granger had two terms as elected leader of the PNC – 2011 and 2015. Will he be the presidential candidate in 2020? Bharrat Jagdeo has emerged as the worst head of government the West Indian group of nations has ever seen. I grew up rejecting the style of governance of Eric Gairy in Grenada and Forbes Burnham in Guyana. I thought these two leaders were happy and content with the exercise of absolute power. Then I saw Bharrat Jagdeo.
This man has just been awarded the title of General-Secretary of the PPP, a party that has no term limits. This man wants to run again in 2020 arguing that the term limits set by the constitution is null and void. Any cursory examination of the PPP will reveal the totalitarian control Jagdeo has over the structures and systems of the PPP.
Even if he loses the court case in our Court of Appeal or the CCJ, and could no longer be eligible for the presidency, he will remain forever as the General-Secretary of the PPP thereby shaping the presidential throne, if his party wins it, as he so desires.
This is the identical process that occurred under the Ramotar presidency. Publisher of this newspaper, Mr. Glenn Lall told me that I am free to publicly write about it, that it was Jagdeo that insisted to President Ramotar that he be charged over the vehicle issue. So this country can end up with a man being the leader of the PPP forever. In these columns, I have occasionally invited people to spend time with me to see what my average day is like. Only my wife and daughter know the true situation.
People call my numbers and stop me all the time about human rights violations. 2016 was no different. I knew from those approaches that people have no faith in the new APNU+AFC Government when it comes to righting wrongs. They do not seek out their new leaders. Yet we have an organization named the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA). Its head, Mr. Mike Mc Cormack has held that position for 40 years; yes, forty years.
He doesn’t like it when I write about this. Where is the GHRA? The answer is that with the passage of time, its permanent leadership has lost its vibrancy. Barack Obama was so right.

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