David Granger: Guyana’s search for Nietzsche’s Übermensch

Sep 27, 2017 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

Nietzsche in desperate anticipation of a falling morality that will inevitably drown civilization, cried out for the ultimate saviour – the Übermensch. This country has been searching for its Übermensch since the colonials left. It was supposed to be Cheddi Jagan. He failed. It was supposed to be Burnham. He failed. Hoyte tried but he was nowhere near to being the Übermensch. Some feel it could have been Rodney but he never lived to become the Übermensch.
If at any time since Guyana’s search for the Ubermensch began, the falling morality fell and civilization reached the chasm, it was under the Anti-Christ of Bharrat Jagdeo. Jagdeo is gone and Guyana still awaits its Übermensch. It will not be David Granger. My analysis of David Granger puts him trillions of miles away from the Übermensch. It is anyone’s guess if Granger will contest in 2020. He should not but if he does and he wins, he will not be the Übermensch.
Human emotions occupy a huge part of the engine that propels civilization. I remember my friend at UG, Charlene Wilkinson, whose radical politics cannot be denied, telling me that she doesn’t care what shortcomings the newly arrived, UG Vice Chancellor, Professor Lawrence Carrington had, she just liked him. I remember our conversation well.
I retorted; “But Charlene you have to wait and see how he turns out.” Charlene’s reply floored me. “Freddie, I don’t care what they say; leave me Vice Chancellor alone.” As it turned out, Charlene still liked her Vice Chancellor but she did voice her concerns about his shortcomings.
David Granger’s deportment and appearance remind me of President Ramotar. I met people who instantly liked the new President Donald Ramotar. Each time I asked why, the answer was starkly identical in each respondent; “He looks like an innocent Santa Claus.” And indeed Ramotar had a likeable personality.
Just looking at how he greeted you and smiled in the market place, you thought he was a grandfather that would not be a bad president. As it turned out, he wasn’t a bad president. He wasn’t a president; legally yes, politically no. There was someone behind the throne and the loveable Ramotar never ruled.
There is an uncanny similarity in that period (2011-2015) of Ramotar with David Granger of 2015 onwards. Known for his father-like figure aura, Granger has a personality that lacks vexations. He has charmed Guyana with his consistent donations encapsulated in the symbol of the Five Bs- buses, boats, bicycles, breakfast and books.
In another country, such a project would best be suited for the office of the First Lady. Instantly it brings to mind the kind of things Michelle Obama would do.
But Guyana is a special place on earth. Not for phenomenal achievements, not for breath-taking developments, not for any kind of scientific and technological inventions. Guyana is a special place on earth because it has been plagued with ethnic and political sarcomas that have been eating away at its physiology since the time of Independence. Some say even with oil money, our cancerous politics will not end. It needs a president that must go beyond the Five Bs.
Guyana wants vision and transformational qualities of leadership. The nice man that he is, I doubt President Granger has those endowments. If he has them, I don’t think this country has seen them within the past twenty eight months. My analysis of the leadership of Mr. Granger does not lead me to think that Guyana will see those qualities in the next two years after which elections are due.
I cannot see Mr. Granger descending into the power and politics of intolerance and authoritarian quicksand in the next two years but at the same time, I don’t see his metamorphosis into the Übermensch. I rather suspect that he even embodies some features that will hold him back in attempting innovative changes. If pressed to cite some of these feature, I would say one is his stiff middle class conservatism. But in all fairness to him, Desmond Hoyte was like that and in the space of two years Hoyte became an ocean of political and social changes. But I do not think Granger has the depth of experience in government that Hoyte had before he became president.
I was told by AFC officials that Mr. Granger is not in favour of the changes to the marijuana sentence structure and that explains why the Bill has not been read as yet. Granger did say, when asked about those changes that Guyana must be careful what it copies from other countries. Finally, I think he is happy with neo-liberal approaches to economic planning. More later.

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David Granger: Guyana’s search for Nietzsche’s Übermensch

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