Magnanimity and grace

They poured in from all corners of Guyana – from the Pakaraimas to the lush sands of the Corentyne – into the National Stadium at Providence, East Bank Demerara to give tribute to this particular man from Unity, East Coast Demerara who had become their longest- serving executive president. The symbolism was not lost on the thousands that filled every seat at the stadium, which itself had become a reality only because of the Herculean efforts of Bharrat Jagdeo.

He would soon be taking his leave after 12 years at the helm, steering the ship of the Guyanese state through some of the most treacherous waters it had encountered in its tumultuous history.

The event was billed as a ‘Day of Appreciation: A World of Thanks’ for the president, but it was a measure of the man that he expressed a wish that this act of spontaneity – from persons fortuitously positioned to appreciate the breadth and grandeur of his accomplishments – should be the beginning of a new tradition. Who better than the representatives of the trade union movement, the religious community, and the private sector to organise the event and offer the ordinary people of the country an opportunity to express their sentiments. It was not for naught that every poll in the last decade had shown that Bharrat Jagdeo was the most popular leader in Guyana.

The departing president generously urged that the bitterness which had accompanied the evaluation of previous leaders be replaced by acts of appreciation for serving the nation. It was a mark of his essential humility that he would transfer the love and respect earned for his own gargantuan service to succeeding leaders who may or may not measure up to the standard he has set. But, inadvertently, he was offering a challenge to those future leaders of our still young nation to raise the level of leadership, so that service to nation, and not for narrow partisan interests, would become the order of the day.

And it was also in this spirit of setting new standards that he exemplified the magnanimity and grace that characterised his address to the packed stadium and to the nation via live television. He emphasised the spirit of compassion that characterised his party’s approach to the needs of the people of Guyana, and pleaded that our citizens must not be judged by their race, religion or gender.

Remarkably, the president alluded to those in the opposition who had worked insidiously to undermine and derail the event: “We embrace people, even those who oppose us.” He called the naysayers, “brothers.” It is the hope that all Guyanese will adopt this exhortation as the mantra for building Guyana in the years ahead.

The president has established, through his unstinting efforts, a solid platform for progress in all spheres of activity in the nation. We understand that some in the political opposition might be intimidated at the enormity of the bar that has been set. Unfortunately, as George Bernard Shaw pointed out: “Hatred is the coward’s revenge for being intimidated.” We plead, in the spirit of the president’s call, for cowardice to be rejected and for all Guyanese to build a brave new world. The president ringingly declared that the people of Guyana must ensure that political loyalty ought not be ranked higher than love for country. We must be defined by our “Guyaneseness”. He emphasised that this was the reason that, even as he spoke, he was reaching out to the political opposition.

In his peroration, he concluded that he hoped the country’s democracy would grow; that the political parties would conduct the upcoming elections with a dignity and in a manner that acknowledged the hard-won gains in the land; that citizens would see elections as important but not the alpha and omega of their lives; and that, the day after the election, they would accept the results of a clean election and return to improving their own lives.

If there is a summary image that would resonate with the national community forever, it would be that of President Bharrat Jagdeo jogging across the field of the National Stadium holding the hands of two children – a symbol of the legacy he has left for generations to come.