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From:TheBahamasWeekly.com Columns
It is unfortunate to see
such a major achievement in our country won by men and women of that
day who believed that successive generations of Bahamians deserved a
better life than what they were experiencing. The issue has become so
politicized that it appears supporters of the Free National Movement
(FNM) have little emotion for the event and the supporters of the Progressive
Liberal Party (PLP) have claimed the event as a personal victory. Politics
has taken hold of our nation in such a divisive way that everything
is politicised whether it relates to the attainment of a job in the
civil service, appointments to government boards, and the bench.
This
cancerous philosophy has affected us right down to the colour of the
garment that we wear. It is an unwritten rule that supporters of the
FNM should not wear yellow/gold outfits. The reverse is true if one
supports the PLP, it is almost a taboo to wear red. More recently, an
individual’s allegiance and loyalty to his party is now being questioned
if he wears the colour green, the banner colour of the newly formed
Democratic National Alliance.
Where did we lose our way and when did
we seek to ignore matters of national importance and focus on such trivial
things that add little value to our lives?
Majority Rule was
a Bahamian victory. It tells the story of a group of people that fought
in the Quiet Revolution to bring about social, economic and political
change. It promised the Bahamian people gifts of hope and prosperity
for all and not just a small few.
It is my view that God ordained it
that its fruition would depend upon the cooperation of the former United
Bahamian Party (UBP) member turned independent, Sir Alvin Braynen and
the Labour Party leader, Sir Randol Fawkes. It was indicative of the
fact that the Bahamas is for Bahamians of all backgrounds, black or
white, rich or poor, liberal or conservative and those who believe in
workers’ rights. It was the culmination of struggles that started
with the abolition of slavery in our islands, and other events such
as the Burma Road Riots, the General Strike, one man one vote, the Women’s
and Universal suffrage movements and Black Tuesday. In those times there
was no PLP or FNM, but a fight toward equality and opportunity for all
and the chance for democracy to reign in our nation. It is worth noting
that the founders and the supporters of the Free PLP, the dissident
group that left the PLP in the early 70s were all present and participated
in this common struggle. In the eyes of some, they were seen as traitors
for later joining forces with the very group of people that oppressed
the masses for so long. The merger of the Free PLP and the UBP would
give birth to what is today the FNM. Nevertheless, it begs the question
whether this merger has prohibited the recognition of Majority Rule
by the FNM on a national level?
Further, to many Bahamians, Majority
Rule has being touted as a sole PLP victory. While it is accepted that
the PLP played a major role in bringing Majority Rule to fruition, the
continuous annual private celebration of the event on PLP territory
is frowned upon and will not accomplish much to bring a non-partisan
national awareness of this historical achievement of our nation. Why
can’t the leaders of the PLP, FNM and the Trade Unions join forces
annually to mark this event? Such divisions and lack of unity have contributed
to the inability of the full Bahamian history to be passed down to successive
generations of Bahamians.
It is a grave error
on the part of the leaders of today to fail to make a conscious effort
to celebrate this achievement on a national level. Majority Rule holds
a place in history similar to Emancipation Day, Labour Day and Independence
- accomplishments that played major roles in the prosperity
that we experience in The Bahamas today. More importantly, Majority
Rule gave birth to the ‘Bahamian Dream’. It was a clear demonstration
to Bahamians of all race, ethnicities and backgrounds that we possess
the ability to govern ourselves and that we could be whatever we aspired
to be. It was the stepping stone that brought about independence from
British colonial rule a short six years later on the 10
th
July, 1973. After delivering on the promise
of political freedom, it paved the way for economic freedom. In this
sense, faced with a largely illiterate population, the then PLP administration
placed significant importance on educating the masses. They understood
that education was the currency that would advance a people to a better
way of life. Hence, education was very essential to the attainment of
the Bahamian Dream. They embarked upon a task to expand the learning
institutions that were available. They built more primary and secondary
schools and built the College of The Bahamas as well as Technical and
Vocational institutions of higher learning. They also made provisions
for scholarships to be provided to attend local and international institutions
of higher learning. It was clear to all and sundry that education would
lead to higher paying jobs that would enable many to own a home, save
for retirement and educate their own children.
Further, that administration
instituted a safety net for Bahamians through the implementation of
National Insurance, expanded health care services and commenced a low-cost
housing program that afforded thousands of Bahamians access to home
ownership, hence the creation and expansion of the middle class.
Today,
45 years later, it appears as though we are losing sight of the Bahamian
Dream and regressing rather than progressing. We are witnessing in unprecedented
numbers Bahamians losing their jobs, homes and properties while many
cannot afford the basic necessities of life and access to higher education.
We have yet to bring about advanced economic freedom to our people on
a large scale. We are not in full control of our economic destinies
with ownership within our main sectors of Tourism and Financial Services
for the most part rest in the hands of foreigners. Although their presence
have generated jobs for thousands of Bahamians and improved their standard
of living (and for this we are grateful), jobs alone will not be sustainable
for 21
st
Century
Bahamas, but the added ability of Bahamians to create jobs themselves.
Bahamians do not want a hand-out but rather a hand-up and The Bahamas
must not be allowed to evolve into a welfare state. The role of the
government is to create an environment that is conducive for its people
to prosper and in turn we must be committed to work toward the desired
economic freedom.
Furthermore, we
must place priority on educating our people once again; otherwise we
will not be able to compete in our own country much less the world.
We must transfer ownership to Bahamians and the environment must be
created for small and medium sized businesses to prosper by way of appropriate
fiscal and monetary policies, reduction in the cost of energy and improving
access to capital for growth and expansion. We must expand our industries
to provide job and entrepreneurial opportunities for Bahamians outside
of Tourism and Financial Services which are heavily dependent upon the
stability and prosperity of the U.S., E.U. and Canadian economies for
the most part. A failure to do so could result in a brain drain and
an exodus of some of our nation’s brightest minds.
We must make every effort to reduce the gap between the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ and a revised tax code to bring relief to the poor, working and middle class is imminent. We are witnessing a threat to our nation’s stability through the increased levels of crime that is spiraling out of control. Arguably, this has a direct correlation with the economic challenges that we face as a nation today. It is imperative to state that, we all have a role to play in building a better
Bahamas and increasing
the possibility of laying hold of the Bahamian Dream. Parents must take
their parenting and nurturing responsibilities more seriously and revert
back to the values that our nation was built upon by distinguishing
between right and wrong. Churches must be more aggressive in spreading
the message of Christ above any other message and branch out into the
communities where people that are in need of spiritual fulfillment reside.
Likewise, teachers, civic leaders and their organisations must also
continue to provide checks and balance to the work that the family,
government and church are undertaking. The old African adage is true
that “It takes a village to raise a child” and without all
hands on deck, the Bahamian dream may be reduced to just a dream with
no hope of becoming a reality for many.
Arinthia S. Komolafe
is an Attorney-at-law. Comments can be directed at arinthia.komolafe@komolafelaw.
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The issue surrounding
Majority rule is for Bahamians the ‘elephant in the room’. It’s
the issue that is ignored and goes unaddressed because it is both socially
and politically incorrect to do so due to its close ties to the history
of race and discrimination in our country.