Dr Irfaan Ali, the people’s President, inspiring the One Guyana movement

I was in South Georgetown recently, still an area in which the PNC maintains an insurmountable support base. One lady said: “Doc, I did not vote for you guys. Me and my family might not vote for you guys ever, but we glad you deh in Government”. Others expressed similar sentiments. Amidst pessimism and obstructionist behaviour of the PNC, their own supporters are joining with other Guyanese citizens in hailing the positive development in our country, and the ONE GUYANA movement inspired by President Irfaan Ali.
One Sunday afternoon in 1995, I thought I saw Dr. Cheddi Jagan on Carmichael Street, not far from Lamaha Street. I took a second look and it was Cheddi, in short pants. I looked around for his security; they were a distance away. I asked him why he meandered so far from the security, reminding him that he was President Cheddi. He said basically that if a president of a country is not safe among his people, he does not deserve to be their president. Cheddi was a simple, humble man. He was comfortable among his Guyanese sisters and brothers; and among them he was most happy.
Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo walked among his people, and worked with them. No citizen anywhere in Guyana, no matter which political party they supported or voted for, ever felt they could not come close to BJ, as he is familiarly referred to among Guyanese. BJ followed in the footsteps of his own hero, Cheddi. In 1997, many asked what would happen if Cheddi was no longer there. The worst fear that Cheddi may not be among us came to pass in 1997. BJ answered the question many asked, and showed that the PPP serves as an incubator for leaders. Today BJ is a world-renowned leader, loved by the supporters of the PPP and supporters of other political parties. The handful of those who hate BJ have proven they are consumed by hate for a leader that began the transformation of Guyana into a modern country.
After BJ could not run for the presidency again, many thought that the PPP would be in trouble, because there was no person whom they saw as capable of stepping into the PPP leadership. Again, those who had thought the PPP had no one to step in and lead the PPP and the country like BJ and CJ are now surprised that, almost seamlessly, Dr. Irfaan Ali has brilliantly taken up the mantle. It is only two years since President Irfaan became Guyana’s 9th Executive President, but he has made such an emphatic impression on Guyanese at home and abroad, and on people across the world, that his praises ring out from even among the enemies of the PPP.
President Irfaan Ali is the People’s President, a humble man, comfortable in his own skin. Irfaan, as most Guyanese refer to him, is truly admired and loved across his country. Every single day, in every single corner of this beautiful land, Irfaan is somewhere among his people. He speaks to them about their lives, their needs, their families and their communities. He plays with them, whether it is dominoes or cricket. He sings and dances with them. He even cooks with them and for them. He hugs his elders; he hugs the children. With young children, he embraces them as he embraces his own son. His smile lights up the dark nights. He brings hope and he inspires belief. The Guyanese people believe that, in Irfaan, we have a leader that truly genuinely cares.
While he plays his cheerleader role to perfection, he is an intelligent and competent economist, with a doctorate in urban development from the University of the West Indies. He is full of ideas about development in his country, and acts as if it must be completed today, not tomorrow. He is impatient to see his country move now from a low-middle-income country to one that is a high-middle-income country during his presidency. His housing programme promises to ensure that every Guyanese family lives in their own home. His road and bridge infrastructure seeks to modernise and expand the Guyanese physical landscape in ways that few Guyanese could have imagined possible. His education initiative is ensuring that every Guyanese has a chance to earn an education unmatched in the dreams of most Guyanese. His health agenda promises to transform health in our country. His food security programme ensures that no Guyanese would ever go hungry, but he finally brings hope that our destiny to be the bread basket of the Caribbean is achieved now.
In just two short years, like BJ, he has become a Guyanese President that other Caribbean leaders look to.
Cheddi was admired around the world, BJ commanded the respect of leaders around the world, they named him the “Champion of the Earth”. Today, leaders around the world are paying close attention to Irfaan.
Yet, it is not what others around the world think of him. His mission, his dream, is a country in which our people live together as one. His ONE GUYANA dream and mission have become a movement, and people of all ethnic groups, all political persuasions, everywhere in our country, believe that ONE GUYANA is possible.
As we watched President Ali in Region 9 this week, we know he is the real thing, he is the People’s President.