Profiles in leadership – LOO Norton

Jul 15, 2025 Features / Columnists, The GHK Lall Column

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Hard Truths by GHK Lall

Kaieteur News – Aubrey Norton had the world at his feet.  For a long minute, he was the man of the moment.  Could he grab the moment, lead a movement?  It was the question on the minds of his folks, with Guyanese outside his circle watching closely.

The idea was to understand who he is, could be, with the leadership mantle in his hand.  A man that many felt represented what Guyana needed when he became head of the opposition, after a hard internal fight.  His troubles were just beginning.  Yet, somehow, he rose…

From man of the moment, Mr. Norton merged into a man of mystery.  What does he represent, at the core?  Who does he represent, and this was foremost on the lips of all?  How will he deal with yet more grueling battles mining the territory in front of him?  And behind his back and from the inside also?  Well, he has, hasn’t he?  Lost some, won some.  I publicly confess to some sympatico for a brother Guyanese.  In front of him, he has the formidable PPP and that means Jagdeo alone; the others don’t count. Combined.  At his back was the PNC and some names that never had his back.  They recently made their personal ambitions and personal visions clear.  It is all about business, what’s of self-help.  For those who want to know whom, the commercial banks have a customer service unit available for such inquiries.  From the front and from the back, a strong man may withstand, but Jagdeo was getting him from the side and otherwise also.  In short, Mr. Norton’s goose got cooked all over.  He looked it.  Who can succeed against those odds?  But he did.  Otherwise, recall that the higher one goes, the greater the numbers below of those wanting to pull down, replace.  He has been doing the replacing.

Notwithstanding that mouthful, a differentiating factor of profound leadership is to rally friends, reach for foes, win them over.  To side.  To vision that morphs from calling to cause.  I regret to say that Mr. Norton hasn’t done too well with some of his friends.  He does, however, have some new comrades.  A leader of merit, one that gives himself a chance at some level of success, must be several people in one, and all at the same time.  A reconciler.  A motivator.  A gatherer.  A builder.  This goes beyond charisma; it is the aura exuded that this man is going somewhere.  It makes others believe, want to be a part of the journey.  Is, Mr. Norton finally coming into his own?  In July?

Separately, the Opposition Leader has apparently lost his former ability to go at issues frontally.  Nowadays, Mr. Norton is all for diplomacy, what he calls strategy.  I see cagey.  When Guyanese want cagey, they already have a Bharrat Jagdeo, the prime domestic example in that discipline.  Indeed, the Opposition Leader had his stints in Guyana’s Foreign Service, but seemingly shrinks from what is tantamount to war service.  Though he is not in the Foreign Service anymore, he has somehow concluded that Exxon’s people and the US ambassador all fall into that category, and must, of necessity, be handled gingerly.  I disagree, whether due to necessity, or as a matter of political survival.  I have heard about Independence, national sovereignty, and self-determination until I am black and blue (red, too) in the face.  For sure, Dr. Jagdeo and the next fella have surrendered all three.  But Mr. Norton didn’t have to, or shouldn’t appear to have done so.  That’s Jagdeo bag, let him have it.

What I am driving at and highlighting is that Mr. Norton had opportunity to display how and what differentiates him from the leader who is of consequence in the PPP.  It is the vice president neck and crop.  Why are the two of them, therefore, sounding and behaving like twins on the oil wealth of the Guyanese people (the people prepping to vote)?  Not quite identical twins, but too close for distinctive identification in Guyana’s national oil lineup.

The management of this oil, the parceling out of its charms, has made Aubrey Norton flutter and flounder.  Dr. Jagdeo flails and flays to no avail.  A man for himself, a man for America, Exxon’s man in Guyana.  ‘Move ovah, Mistah Routledge.’  Guyanese must not see Mr. Norton in that same light, for then of what utility would be for them?  When he is different, and inspiringly so, this is what would distinguish him from Exxon’s masked operator in Guyana.  He is Guyanese, and no Guyanese should need an intro, so unmasked he now stands. When Mr. Norton emerged at the head of the pack, he had opportunities before him to blaze his own trails.  What was different from his predecessors, separated from external political competitors.  Oil stood highest; race right there.  I thought he could.  He lowered his head.  Now his lease is renewed, extended.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)  

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• Elections, GHK Lall, leadership, Norton

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