MOHAMED Irfaan Ali, I predicted, will eclipse Cheddi Jagan and Forbes Burnham as the definitive leader of Guyana. I believe that legacy is being shaped at the moment, and there will be an explosive transformation of Guyana under his leadership by the time he rides away at the end of 2030. I have written that by the time his presidential role is finished, he will be the most iconic leader that the CARICOM family has produced.

I did say in a previous column on President Ali that despite the gigantic Independence heroes of Errol Barrow in Barbados, George Price in Belize, Eric Williams in Trinidad, Manley and Bustamente in Jamaica, Vere Bird Senior in Antigua, and Maurice Bishop’s post-colonial heroism in Grenada, Ali will emerge as the most accomplished CARICOM leader in terms of changing a country for the better.

President Ali has been named by Time Magazine as among the 100 rising stars of the future. Ali has chalked up some impressive global awards that I believe may land him influential roles in global organisations after his tenure is over. Here is a list of international accolades that Ali has received that will be hard to outdo in the foreseeable future:

Global Leadership Award for Open Innovation for 2024 from the University of California, Berkeley, an award that was bestowed on Barack Obama; Wilson Award from the Wilson Centre for immense contributions to environmental  sustainability  and climate change; Caribbean Global Awards 2024; Global Africa Leadership Award; Legacy Award, Class of 2024 of the University of the West Indies; the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award by Prime Minister Modi of India;
Order of Freedom of Barbados, the country’s highest national award; the Inter-American Institute for Co-operation on Agriculture Award for Contribution to Food Security and Sustainable Development.

I now reproduce a part of my analysis of Irfaan Ali in my column of August 4, 2024, titled “Applying Jean Paul Sartre to President Ali.” Back then, I noted: “One of the lasting contributions, French existentialist, Jean Paul Sartre has made to philosophy is his modification of the dialectic. Sartre has changed our understanding of how the dialectic shapes the dynamism inherent in society. Sartre argued that man makes history not only in given circumstances, as Marx wrote, but man may be able to shape those circumstances. Sartre puts it this way: “The point is to affirm the specific character of the human act … while traversing the social scene… within a certain field of possibilities, man steps outside his historical and social limitations by what he succeeds in making what has been made of him.”

Now for President Ali. Having laid the groundwork for the polemic that the individual can act on the dialectic and bring about changes, I think Guyana is seeing this with Ali. I don’t think anyone in Guyana foresaw that Ali could have emerged as a game changer in Guyana’s sociology. But this is what we are seeing in Guyana today. The one area of Guyana’s sociology where I think he has proven Sartre right is ethnic psychology. Ali, in a racially suspicious society, has traversed the social scene (using Sartre’s words) and has reshaped Guyana’s recurring sociological curse – ethnic suspicion of leaders based on race.”

This has been a long quotation, but it was unavoidable because I wanted to emphasise how an individual can change history, and I believe what we are witnessing in Guyana is an individual, Mohamed Irfaan Ali, the leader of Guyana, changing the dialectical course of history.

As the years wind down to 2030, Ali must pay attention to that philosophical contribution of Sartre. He has to prove to the world that the individual can shape the dialectics. I am proposing a few directions that will contribute to the everlasting greatness of Ali. First, continue to expand the inherent priceless value of ONE Guyana so that by the time he leaves office, racial feelings of being left out of Guyana’s future will disappear.

Secondly, in this, the second and last term, he has to lose himself among the people of Guyana. Go to them continuously, talk to them, find out what their needs are and use the massive assets of the economy to deliver to them. Thirdly, retain and expand the tri-sectoral economy. Despite the expansion of the New Imperialism in global relations, Guyana needs foreign investments. Let the investors come, and Guyana must emulate China. Let them come and learn from them, and your people will have the skills they bring in.

Thirdly, the majority of people are from the working class. Share with them the country’s wealth. Fourthly, set up some kind of agency with authority that will listen to the problems of the working people and try to solve them as quickly as possible. Finally, open Guyana to our CARICOM neighbours.

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.