The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune,

LORETTA Butler-Turner steps into very deep water when she compares her political career and that of Hubert Alexander Ingraham.

Her argument could be considered if she had a context for making the statements she made about Mr Ingraham.

It is true that she is an Independent and he was an Independent. It is true that he was elected and became leader of a political party and Prime Minister. However, she is yet to be elected as an independent candidate and she would like to be Prime Minister; but it is here that the comparison falters.

Mr Ingraham, along with the present Prime Minister, was fired by Prime Minister Pindling for a stand they took. Mrs Butler-Turner chose to fire herself and then took a couple of stands and now she is an independent candidate who leads an opposition group that is somewhat non-existent.

A couple of years ago, I spoke with Mrs Butler-Turner at the conclusion of the funeral service of the late Edmund Moxey. I had noticed some stirrings and positions she was putting forward and I asked her if she had given adequate consideration to what she was doing. There was not much of an answer, but I asked her to exercise some patience as she moved forward in her political career; my advice was not heeded.

Upon reflection, it seems that too many of the younger party members in the Free National Movement have aspirations for leadership, but lack the patience required to see the process through. Where would Branville McCartney, Loretta Butler-Turner, Darron Cash, Dion Foulkes and many other talented persons be right now if they could have exercised patience? I remember as a youngster, hanging out at some of the cookouts that the Progressive Liberal Party held on the Southern Recreation Grounds and seeing Lynden Oscar Pindling helping with the clean up afterwards. Those memories always caused me to see him in another light, despite what I felt about how his politics turned out and even then he never gave you the idea that he had a sense of entitlement. Perhaps it is this issue that continues to be the Achilles Heel, for those who have been born into privilege in our nation.

I appreciate the fact that Mr Ingraham has held his peace so long, but I knew it was not long before he went to his “rock pile”; we could say that he is really “rockin”. He has been needled and cajoled so long by his old party that what we are seeing is inevitable in a way. The fact remains that he may be one of the few voices that Bahamians trust, whether they like him or not, and that dynamic is so crucial that some persons would seek to sideline his opinion. To his credit he has the moral currency to speak to this nation, and no one has ever accused him of lying - and there are not many who have been in politics as long as he has who can make that claim.

The Bahamian people are about to inform us as to what their desires are going forward, but some are bothered that we are being instructed to listen to our consciences. This is a sign of disrespect that will not be soon forgotten after May 10.

EDWARD

HUTCHESON

Aurora, Ohio,

May 7, 2017.