The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

A letter was written today about the battle for leadership in the FNM by a strong supporter of Loretta Butler-Turner. This is a democracy and everyone is entitled to his or her opinion but when the statement was made that “I have seen the attacks made on the deputy leader by many within the party”, without any mention of the attacks made on the leader, it is clear to me that person is obviously only seeing the side they want to see!

What about the brutal and unkind attacks made on Dr. Minnis, not just over the past few months but for the past two and a half years by people within the party? The Bahamian public has sat back and watched Dr. Minnis get pummelled by more FNM supporters than anyone, since he was chosen to lead!

Dr. Minnis has withstood a beating by people who claimed to be supporters of the party for years! They voted him in as leader in a deflated and devastated party and then proceeded to stomp him into the ground! He has been criticized and ridiculed at every turn with very few coming forward to lend support in areas that they thought he could do better. One “FNM” group went as far as to publicly try to humiliate him on facebook and yet he stood strong! No leader is perfect.. Moses was far from perfect when he was sent to deliver the children of Israel out of Egypt, but he got the job done!

In spite of the constant attacks and the debt that the party was in, Dr. Minnis was able to drum up enough support to take the message of the FNM from one island to the next, from one constituency to the next and he took his blows like a champion. Whenever he fell down, he brushed himself off and got up again. He did his best to keep supporters informed through text messages, emails and facebook posts. He showed FNM’s and Bahamians everywhere that he can withstand adversity, that he has ‘staying’ power. Dr. Minnis is not a quitter! The sign of a true leader!

The big criticism has often been that Dr. Minnis is not charismatic or articulate enough. Not a single complaint about his determination, his drive and success in accomplishing the tasks that has been set before him, his performance as a Cabinet Minister or as a Member of Parliament. Is this what the Bahamian people want? A hot shot with lots of eloquent speeches and lip service? I think we are beyond that in this country! Check their records!

I dedicate the verses of poem by Maya Angelou to Hon. Dr. Hubert Minnis, the next Prime Minister of The Bahamas.

You may write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,

You may tread me in the very dirt

But still, like dust, I’ll rise.

You may shoot me with your words,

You may cut me with your eyes,

You may kill me with your hatefulness,

But still, like air, I’ll rise.

I rise

I rise.

WINNERS NEVER QUIT

Nassau,

November 4, 2014.