THE days of chivalry are gone; so also are the days when citizens looked upon their politicians as statesmen. True, a politician and a statesman are not the same thing, but today, like honest politician, it’s an oxymoron.

A statesman differs from a politician in that he is guided by a moral compass of strong unchanging principles fashioned by absolute values which do not change even though buffeted by the storms of popular opposition. He has a vision for his people, and he builds a consensus to achieve that vision.
Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandella, Alexander Bustamante, Norman Manley, Eric Williams, Errol Barrow and Cheddi Jagan easily come to my mind. To this list, in the context of Guyana, I could squeeze in Desmond Hoyte and Donald Ramotar.
I still vividly recall Cheddi Jagan embracing Forbes Burnham on the eve of our Independence in May 1966, forgetting on that momentous occasion, Burnham’s earlier opposition to Guyana’s independence and his X-13 Plan that catapulted the PPP from office.  Jagan’s gesture, to me, was the zenith of statesmanship.
When Desmond Hoyte resisted Hamilton Green and almost the entire executive of the PNC, and opened up the country to free and fair elections, that to my mind, was also statesmanship.
And when the Don emphatically exclaimed last night at the Fairfield Hall in Queens that Amaila will materialize, come what may, he declared his unchanging principle would not be affected by any storms kicked up by the popular opposition, and that he will pursue a consensus to achieve his vision.
I do not believe there is any single Guyanese who does not wish for Guyana to have hydropower. Any opposition comes from politicians pursuing their own agenda, or other individuals with personal axes to grind. These are the people who would bury Guyana only to reign over the grave.
Having listened to Donald Ramotar and his high profile entourage last night I begin to smell election in the air. And what a good Christmas gift it would be.
Amaila means more to Guyana than political independence. Burnham resisted Independence because he did not want it to be given to a PPP government. Today it’s deja vu all over. The campaign slogan will not be “Highway to Heaven” or “Feed, Clothe and House the Nation”. This time it would be “Power to the People”.
Granger and Ramjattan will be relegated to the waste basket of history as mere politicians, because this time the people will win.