‘It is far beyond comprehension why men of such high stature and eminence failed to recognise that colonial masters after the surrender of sovereignty, invariably follow the age-old ‘Divide and Rule’ doctrine.’
THE advent of Political Independence in the year 1966 was immediately followed by rising expectations in several respects.

The catchword was Guyanisation at any price, even if it hurts.

As a consequence of this understandable exuberance, we recklessly began to jettison everything or anything that had a Colonial taint.

This was at the behest of our political leaders, doubtlessly intoxicated with the new-found power that had been thrust upon them without rebellion and the firing of weapons as had been the case in India, Kenya, Nigeria, Rhodesia, the Congo and elsewhere around Colonial Empires of the day.

In Guyana, the aim was to control the “Commanding heights of Industry” to make “the Small Man a Real Man” and also to “Feed, Clothe and House the Nation” overnight.

This was the socialist short-cut path to prosperity that almost every nation that had been freed of Colonial dominance sought to pursue.

Little was it realised that this was a prescription for eventual national socio-economic disaster. So we nationalised the Bauxite and Sugar Industries almost without due diligence, probably as a matter of reprisal. We similarly nationalised all Bookers Holdings, including Shipping, Stores, Garage, Pharmaceutical Plant and others, to name only a few.

Sprostons Shipbuilding which had established the ‘Clyde’ of the Caribbean in Shipbuilding in British Guiana was also nationalised.

And this precipitate action appears to have been the compelling factor that caused scores of businesses both local and expatriate to flee Guyana for safer climes abroad.

And scarce qualified human resources followed in their wake over subsequent years to the present time.

Intemperate political action placed an enormous burden on the nation which was still in ‘diapers’ just after birth with the ‘umbilical cord’ still very raw.

And to compound the problem while still in infancy, the nation’s two main political leaders who had led the way to Independence hand-in-hand and shoulder-to-shoulder, fell apart over the sharing of Power.

It is far beyond comprehension why men of such high stature and eminence failed to recognise that colonial masters after the surrender of sovereignty, invariably follow the age-old ‘Divide and Rule’ doctrine.

The Imperialists created similar schisms in relation to India, Pakistan, Kashmir, in the Belgian Congo and over the whole of Africa, in Cyprus, in the Middle East – in short over the whole world. This was also the method used in the days of the Roman Empire.

Otherwise how could a small ‘City State’ like Rome control the whole known world in its time. Or how could an ‘Island State’ like Great Britain govern and control from a distance of thousands of miles the former British Empire, including what is now known as the United States of America, Canada, British Guiana (Guyana), Australia, New Zealand, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), India and numerous others.

It was primarily through playing race against race, tribe against tribe, religions against religions, sect against sect and numerous other instruments of division. So the two main races of British Guiana (now Guyana) allowed themselves to polarise through politics.

The two founding Fathers of the Nation have long taken their exit from the stage of this earth, but the schism that had been created unfortunately haunts us to this day.

A Nation Divided against itself cannot stand. If the Berlin wall could be broken down, there could be no good reason why the wall that divides our two major races, primarily because of politics, cannot be broken down at this early point in the Twenty First Century.

After all, the ancestors of both races built this nation with their blood, sweat and tears during slavery and indentured servitude; there is a common bond.

The people of the United States of America have shown the way in the election of an African American as its President despite a vast white majority.

It is Time for Change. Our nation must lick the wounds of the past for the genuine re–unification of Guyana. We can do it; yes we can.

Like Martin Luther King, let us have dreams. And in those dreams we must see men, women and children of all races in our beloved Guyana holding hands together in unity to make this Nation Truly Great.

We must stop the unending rhetoric and act now or face the deluge of perpetual socio – economic poverty in the midst of our vast untapped mineral resources in a country that has the advantage of a population of less than three quarter million souls.

There is enough space available for everyone.

Let us sink differences and move forward to better times.

Our posterity yet unborn will be ever grateful to for having the courage to change course after decades of mistrust.