Bharrat Jagdeo – disappearing, reappearing, disappearing

Feb 19, 2026 Features / Columnists, The GHK Lall Column

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Hard Truths by GHK Lall

(Kaieteur News) – I hope that Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, fellow citizen [a brother, if I am allowed] is doing good, enjoying peaceful, sunny days.  He disappeared, reappeared, then disappeared again.  It is not like him.  Not a man of his irrepressible, never-say-die spirit.  I am concerned.  He and his PPP fellowship can be about injury.  My call is to mercy.  Lent or no Lent.  Whenever and wherever (and from whomsoever) there is so much hate, let me be a healer.  I try.

It is not in Dr. Jagdeo’s nature to distance from the bright glare of the limelight.  It is too much in his DNA.  Since he segued into political life, and said to himself: the possibilities are endless.  No question he reaped the luscious fruits of many such possibilities.

So, where is he?  Asked with the kindest impulse inside.  He is too much of an infighter to retire so abruptly, so quietly.  Even mud wrestlers when withdrawing from the square of combat, shed their bikini and other costumes, then don a suit and take a seat in the broadcast booth.  What do the facts from the environment say?  Not one Thursday press conference, those alarming and sprawling dustups that he so loved, since his last reappearance.  Something is not right.  Not even the reading of another record budget, one to the tune of $1.558 trillion, was enough to spur him to grace the public with his presence.  His fingerprints smear that budget.  What could be going on with Dr. J?  For the nation’s chief policymaker to slide into silence, to make himself into a phantom, is most unusual, causes some trouble.

Whatever the circumstances of Dr. Jagdeo, I can help.  Been there, know that, lived those heavy days.  Though not a professional in many fields, I can lay a small claim to the spiritual.  The spiritual will always transcend the professional.  If something is wrong, there is no shame in saying so.  I hope that all is alright.  Part of my enduring training, personal culture, is not to cry, no matter how great the pain, how hard the loss.  There is winning, sometimes; there is slipping other times, very few those are.  So, there is appreciation that some are made of that stoic nature, where they prefer to stare into eternity, and come to grips with it on their own.  Pride can lead in that direction. When individuals are accustomed to an iron control over their faculties, their carriage, and their public persona, there is that internalising, that soul searching.  I hope that Dr. Jagdeo is so engaged with the time that he has taken for himself.  That is, he searches for his soul, finds it, and then finds the courage to search himself.  Trust me on this one, if nothing else.  The results can be profound, life altering.

Due to history, I’m in a position to help a brother in rough seas (if such were the case).  Cool his brow, calm his spirit, lead him to green pastures and settle him alongside still waters.  The least that can be done is to offer.  Because the silence, and that vacant space, is thunderous, and ominous, I venture gently to say that it may not be the best of times for Bharrat Jagdeo.  A man does not fight so long, work so tirelessly, to compile a record as a ball bearing buster, a knee-capper, and a head-breaker, only to slip away on padded feet.  Leaving everyone guessing.  I am not one to take the liberty of guessing about another’s personal welfare.  Taking off the gloves to deal with champion public brawlers is an occupation.  But a man’s private situation that locks him away from the world is a job from which I step aside, walk away.  I share my piece, move on.

A national vice president and a dominant ruling party General Secretary (Chief of Staff and Lieutenant General) does not abandon those posts without the courtesy of an info bulletin.  Not with all those in his wide circle of admirers and worshippers hanging.  What to tell them?  Who will be the one to take that bold step, to unseal the vacuum?  I shall not dip a toe in the waters of public figures, but their duty to clear the air.  What I present, is that Bharrat Jagdeo knows what he has to do, whatever well-crafted tidbit to smoothen the atmosphere.  The air is too thick.  He has a duty to speak; he or his authorised agents.  I have a responsibility to call matters, as I see them.

(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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• Bharrat Jagdeo, disappearing, GHK Lall, reappearing

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