–US-sanctioned Azruddin Mohamed’s cousin dismisses his campaign for office, implores Guyanese not to follow the pomp, scene
–urges persons to take note of the country’s progress ahead of upcoming elections
WITH general and regional elections drawing near, businesswoman Sarah Ibrahim has publicly distanced herself from the presidential ambitions of her cousin, US-sanctioned Azruddin Mohamed, warning Guyanese not to fall for what she described as “a rich man’s vanity project.”
Her comments, made in a strongly worded Facebook post, come at a time when Mohamed is ramping up his political campaign for ‘We Invest in Nationhood’ party under the guise of “independent leadership.”
But Ibrahim’s statement cuts to the core of what many observers have already been saying: this isn’t about service, it’s about ego.
“It’s no secret that my cousins have decided to run for presidency and the majority of our family is against him. Our love for The Mohameds is great, the family tree bends it doesn’t break. Our respect for our patriarch is still there, the truth that I think we can all agree on in and out of the family is, he has worked hard and was supported by his family thru the journey, no one wants to see his legacy be destroyed by the ego of his misguided children.
“If these were complete strangers to me, I would have voiced the same criticism, and 100 percent sure it would have been worse. I’m smart and my future and my children’s future depend on whoever is running our country,” Ibrahim wrote.
Ibrahim took aim at the lack of policy, direction, or clear answers coming from the campaign, noting that some Guyanese in the diaspora are pushing a narrative far removed from the lived reality at home.
She called out persons for following behind the Mohamed campaign, mocking how even party members struggle to pronounce their candidate’s name “Az, Azure, Azo” a symbol, she said, of just how unserious the whole thing is.
“We want Azurdeen, Azo, Azure, Az! His party members can’t even get his name right. But are the people so gullible, that when faced with real questions about our country there are no answers. Only the allure of help. No real answers of how we help each other and grow OUR country,” she said.
As such, Ibrahim warned voters not to be swayed by social media campaigns and charity handouts.
“It’s like the beautiful, magical Lambo that fascinated the nation will immediately fix all the roads, provide jobs and [give] fat bank accounts to every citizen? A rev of the engine will heal all illnesses and rainbows and gold coins will rain down on Guyanese with every turn it makes. Getting into all the good, the bad and the ugly won’t answer the questions, because people aren’t ready for the answers,” she added.
She urged against throwing all the progress made over the past few years for a “feel-good campaign.”
IGNORE THE NOISE
“In just about 50 days don’t listen to the noise. Don’t follow the pomp and scene. Look at the progress. Look at the speed at which our country is moving. It can’t happen overnight but it’s happening,” she said.
Ibrahim made it clear that her post wasn’t about family drama, it’s about Guyana’s future.
The businesswoman is not the first family member to come out against him. Recently, two of Azruddin’s uncles, Mohamed Yusuf and Mohamed Haseeb Yusuf, publicly declared that he is not capable of leading Guyana.
“My nephew, Azruddin Mohamed, he does not understand politics, he does not understand geo-politics, he is a political [novice]…I don’t think he has that ability, and he is not that educated…that is my main reason. If he had those qualities, I would have been the first to endorse him, but he doesn’t have leadership qualities. So that is why I just dismiss him,” Mohamed Yusuf had said.
Yusuf did not mince his words as he called out his nephew for turning his father’s 30 years of quiet but meaningful charity into a “political circus” to fuel his own “narcissistic” ambitions.
“He hijacked his father’s charity and he is going about now and turn it into a political circus. He is going to the people and show them that he is such a charitable man and he deserves to lead them. But this guy is not fit, and he and his sister, Hannah Mohamed, they just wake up one morning and decide to form a political party because Azruddin has some social media standing and has a lot of followers. These people are just social media freaks,” Yusuf said.
The two highly respected Muslim men endorsed President, Dr. Irfaan Ali for a second term in office, describing him as the man capable of taking charge of Guyana’s further development.
Haseeb Yusuf had said too: “I have examined most of the candidates who are vying for leadership, for the highest office of this country and I have recognised that there is only one person, one candidate that has all of the prerequisites, to lead this country into the new era of development, the one who has the credentials, the vision, the competence, the empathy and the integrity, that goes with the office.
“I have examined all of the candidates, including my nephew, Azruddin Mohamed, and I have only seen one person that outshines all the others…I hereby endorse Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali as President for the Co-operative Republic of Guyana for a second term,” the religious leader, educator, and social activist had said.
Nazar Mohamed, his son Azruddin and their businesses, namely Mohamed’s Enterprise, Hadi’s World and Team Mohamed’s Racing, on June 11 2024, were sanctioned by U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which oversees sanctions against individuals and entities tied to illicit activities and hostile foreign governments.
In a June 2024 statement, the OFAC stated, “Azruddin and Mohamed’s Enterprise evaded Guyana’s tax on gold exports, and defrauded the Guyanese government of tax revenues by under-declaring their gold exports to Guyanese authorities. Between 2019 and 2023, Mohamed’s Enterprise omitted more than 10 thousand kilogrammes of gold from import-and-export declarations, and avoided paying more than US$50 million in duty taxes to the Government of Guyana.”