Power of the people

Oct 03, 2023 Editorial

Kaieteur News – Guyanese showed the world that they have the power to take matters in their own hands, when they did so with cricket. Sections of Guyana’s population made clear that they have it inside to ignore the dictates of government when the cause is compelling enough.

Cricket was found to be such a cause, with them being away from the demands of the day, and celebrating in the streets.

The Guyana Government was insistent from the start: Monday, September 25^th is not a national holiday in observation of the anticipated triumph of the Guyana Amazon Warriors. Various agencies of the government made that same stance clear: no holiday. This was whether the Guyana Amazon Warriors won, lost, or drew. Though unsaid, this may have had some relationship to the then upcoming Youman Nabi national holiday, already fixed for Thursday, September 28^th.

On Sunday, September 24^th, the Guyana Amazon Warriors became the 2023 CPL champions. On that victorious Sunday night, cellphones and other electronic gadgets started zinging with messages about the following day, Monday, September 25^th, being declared a National Holiday, with official looking messages. Vice President Jagdeo’s Facebook page reportedly called those messages for what they were: Fake news. Nobody paid attention, nobody cared, nobody attached much value to anything that the government said. The thrill of victory was simply too overpowering, with Guyanese uninhibitedly joyful.

Early Monday, September 24^th, city streets and its feeder road from different directions were all noticeably less congested, with more free moving around the usual chokepoints, including along the East Bank and East Coast Demerara, and from across the Demerara River. Guyanese had ignored all the notices to the contrary from governing authorities, and exercised the power in their hands. Whatever the government said was given short thrift.

This was for cricket celebrations over a long-awaited victory of substance and prestige. The CPL certainly qualifies, and regardless of whether it was a truly national team in the fullest sense of the word (all Guyanese). It was time for a rare cricket celebration, hence the unofficial, unannounced quasi, semi holiday enjoyed by some. Definitely, government offices were opened, and the commercial sector kept turning over, but they were not with the usual high energy.

This begs the question: if Guyanese can feel this empowered for a cricket victory, then what about the bigger things in Guyanese life? What about, and where are they, with the biggest development in Guyana’s history, which is this great oil wealth that is the property of the people, their richest asset? How can they be so complacent, so accepting and servile, when their own economic prospects, and that of their offspring down the line, are all subject to immense corporate plundering, and worse political bungling by one government after another? What about the power that they took into their hands for cricket? Why not more of that, as fiercely concentrated into everything that has to do with the oil patrimony that is theirs?

The forebears of today’s Guyanese dreamt about oil, had hoped for a taste of the wealth from the oil that they had believed was part of this country’s rich natural resources endowments. Their dreams and hopes went unfulfilled as they departed for the great beyond. But for their children and grandchildren the dream is real, and the reality is here. But they have a handicap: oil dreams have turned out to be nightmarish, with greedy foreign oil companies and conspiring Guyanese politicians combining to dash the hopes of the Guyanese people, especially the masses at the bottom.

Since Guyanese can show their power for a cricket holiday, there should have long been a greater exercise of that constitutional power for their own prosperity. There is nothing bigger than the prosperity that is due to Guyanese, and when they are either being misled or deceived over it, then the power in their hands for their birthright should be at its highest and brightest pitch. The power of the people, as manifested for cricket, should peak for their economic destiny, the individual and national prosperity that must come from this oil wealth. The wisest and strongest use of the people’s power conquers all stubbornness, overpowers whoever stands in the way.

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compelling, cricket, Government, Prosperity, Youman Nabi

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