Dear Editor,
For the record, I wish to register my unadulterated consternation at the recent dangerous remarks spewed by the WPA leadership, words which were openly supported by PNC leader Aubrey Norton at a rally held in Buxton.
In particular, permit me to voice my total condemnation of the absolutely racist and treasonous statements emanating from Tacuma Ogunseye (which were apparently supported by the PNC leadership present at the said rally).
We need to understand that these individuals are of a dying breed. These men and their pungent emanations have never more exemplified what it means to be a fossil. That is the truth. To put it simply, the Working People’s Alliance fails to exist in 2023, now the Worst Possible Alternative has come to the fore.
Does one really need to ask who in their right mind would advocate an armed uprising aimed at targeting certain sections of the Guyanese populace? Indeed, as a young person too, it is absolutely pathetic to witness so-called leaders using their platforms to serve as emissaries of hate. I have absolutely no doubt that the prehistoric gentlemen wanted to 1: incite new waves of Slo Fyaah Moh Fyaah, and 2: use their venom to frighten Guyanese from exercising the franchise in the upcoming LGEs.
This must be the “silly season”, as they call it. But let me say that the young people are watching and listening, and we will not shrink into cowardice. We, the youth, will use our voices to rise up and make our voices heard! Ogunseye, Hinds, and others of their ilk will be reduced to a mere footnote in the annals of history.
MAKE NO MISTAKE: You don’t think these divisive statements were planned? When last has the WPA done or said anything relevant? In fact, how many of them are still around? All 5 or 6 of them? The annual Walter Rodney Symposium is around the corner, and Patricia Rodney’s abandonment of the remaining WPA speaks volumes as to how irrelevant they are. Like a parasite, these individuals need attention to survive.
The onus is on us, young people, to confront racism and prejudice in whatever shape or form it manifests itself; be it against Indians, Africans, or the Indigenous.
Further, during the Crime Wave era, when I was but a mere tot, it was well documented that Ogunseye once celebrated to his comrades the news of the Camp Street prison escapees’ “uprising”, which culminated in murders against mostly Indo-Guyanese. However, his old comrade, the late Andaiye, famously retorted and said, “Not in My Name”.
Brothers and sisters, the foes of the past may now prop themselves up as the “heroes” of today. One former Prime Minister, once feared, now masquerades as an “Elder”. But in the face of this all, we must remember those indelible words as we continue to work towards a prosperous, united Guyana.
“Not In My Name”.
Regards,
Nikhil Sankar
