The Tribune

By ADRIAN GIBSON

ajbahama@hotmail.com

LAST week, former senator Lanisha Rolle resigned from the Senate after the publication of the content of recordings made by fellow Free National Movement (FNM) political hopeful Lincoln Bain.

In recent times, the FNM has been subjected to too much sufferance. This is yet another occasion.

In the recording of her conversation with Mr Bain, Mrs Rolle reportedly spoke at length about the political future of several members of the party with whom she was dissatisfied.

The audio revealed disparaging comments made by Mrs Rolle about several FNM members of Parliament. During the meeting, Mrs Rolle informed Mr Bain that the party would not offer him the nomination for the Pinewood Gardens constituency and further claimed that the ratification of incumbent FNM MPs had been purposely delayed.

Regarding the content of his meeting with Mrs Rolle, Mr Bain said his constituency executives were angered by her assertion that he would not get the nomination and these views were expressed to FNM executives.

He said: “There was this thing that people were pushing that was a total blatant lie that I didn’t receive the nomination and that I recorded this to set up Lanisha Rolle and took it to persons so that I could get the nomination. That is a lie from the pits of hell.

“At the meeting certain things were said. Basically she was saying that she was getting the nomination and not me and that I must support her and back her and manage it and that I must get the association on her side and basically if I didn’t then …

“So I spoke to my Pinewood executives and only them. I didn’t speak to party leadership. I spoke to Pinewood executives and let them know ‘well, I have been told by Lanisha that she is going to get the nomination’. They were up in arms. They were distraught (and) they were extremely upset that it came from her and that it came at all because they are behind me 100 per cent,” Mr Bain stated.

This carnivorous affair is mindboggling, head-scratching stuff! It is appalling the sense of entitlement that Mr Bain and Mrs Rolle appear to have about receiving FNM nominations. How could this be?

On Monday, Mr Bain was adamant in telling The Tribune that he did nothing wrong as he admitted to secretly recording the former senator during a private meeting, saying his actions were a bid to “protect myself” from possible “sabotage”. Mr Bain claimed the audio recording only “came into play” to prove to party executives that the private meeting had taken place.

I am very curious about the author of the FNM’s lame, amateurish and mistake-laden press releases. Who could possibly be writing such grammatically incorrect babble, where words are misspelt throughout? Have they not heard of spell check? Do they not proof read the material before widely disseminating it to the press and social media groups?

And, why is the writer of the FNM’s press releases quoting the leader or chairman or whoever is giving the statement? Why can’t they simply write a statement, attribute it to someone and leave the quoting to members of the press? Why are they pretending to write a news story? They clearly do not understand how to write press releases and I urge the powers that be - within the FNM - to train them or get someone who can. It is embarrassing and it’s certainly not rocket science.

Both of the statements released in the wake of Mrs Rolle’s resignation - the one announcing her resignation and the other announcing the appointment of Dr Duane Sands to the Senate - were poorly written. My six-year-old son could produce better sentence structure.

The statement on Mrs Rolle’s behalf was insincere, claiming that “at this current time in my life I need to focus on a few personal matters and do not feel that I will be able to devote the time needed to best serve the Bahamian people” and asserting that she “cannot in good conscience allow myself to continue to serve while not being able to focus all of my attention to the work of the people”. Hmmm. Is that really the reason? Talk about political sleight of hand.

Mrs Rolle was embroiled in controversy earlier this year after she called a radio show in January and criticised Loretta Butler-Turner and other FNM members of Parliament. She accused sitting FNM MPs of being “jealous” of the party leader and said Mrs Butler-Turner, Dr Minnis’ former rival for leadership, would not have the support of voters over Prime Minister Perry Christie.

After she was criticised by members of her party, in March Mrs Rolle finally publicly apologised for her remarks.

Quite honestly, the former senator can only be likened to an unripened sapodilla or sugar apple picked way before its time … and those folks who grew up on the Family Island know exactly what I’m saying. Mrs Rolle sashayed into the public domain via a talk show and in little time was thrust onto the political scene in a key senatorial post. Unfortunately, rather than capturing the imagination of the country, she spent much of her time being a political bomb thrower, committing political suicide at other times and, on her down time, engaging in backroom wrangling for seats and having verbal slugfests with her fellow members.

Mrs Rolle often acted like a political suicide bomber. She had a meteoric rise in FNM/Bahamian politics and has since had a cataclysmic fall. Given the last two controversies involving Mrs Rolle, and a senatorial tenure mired in mediocrity, she can hardly be considered a politically shrewd navigator.

She was hoping to become a political cat burglar and swipe the nomination for Pinewood from right under Mr Bain’s fingertips. Alas, we have yet again seen the spillage of political blood within the FNM. The Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) must be laughing hysterically, joyous watching the fragmentation within the FNM with less than one year before a general election. Lincoln Bain has effectively neutralised and politically emasculated the ex-senator and, in the process, cast doubt upon himself and likely dashed his own political hopes. What’s more, there are many who will have reservations about speaking to Mr Bain on telephones or in person for fear that he will record their conversations. In a party where there are already issues of trust, this affair deepens the sense of mistrust among FNMs. I find that so unfortunate.

Like many curious Bahamians, I wanted to hear the recordings that Mr Bain had made. I listened to them and thought that Mrs Rolle spoke candidly because she thought that she was speaking in confidence to a political ally. Mr Bain’s recording of Mrs Rolle without her knowledge was unethical or deceitful. There is no excuse for it.

Mr Bain has seemingly prevaricated. Whilst he stated that he did not leak the tape, one wonders who leaked it if he was the person who recorded the audio. He may not be the proximate cause of the tape leaking to the press, but it is possible that he allowed persons to listen to it or sent snippets to persons whom he may have trusted and they in turned leaked it.

The audio recording of Bain and Rolle is representative of a Beavis and Butthead moment that should cause the FNM to be ashamed of the image it wants to project to the public and ought to leave them concerned about the deleterious optics now being projected.

Yes, Lanisha Rolle perhaps deserved a comeuppance but she should not have been destroyed or torn down in such a degrading and disgraceful manner – not by PLPs but by members of her own party. Yes, perhaps no one is mourning her political death but she was dealt a most unkind cut and, frankly, she has a right to be bitter that her end was not noble but rather one of gutter politics. She is a Bain Town woman and she certainly took a Bain Town “lickin’”.

The beneficiary of all of this, politically, is one young senator named Heather Hunt who now glows radiantly in comparison to her erstwhile successor. Mrs Rolle replaced her pursuant to FNM leader Dr Hubert Minnis’ rotational scheme that would see senators serving for two and a half years and demitting office to give another a chance. Strangely, that has involuntarily occurred given the number of FNM senators we have seen over the last five years. What’s more, Senator Kwasi Thompson survives yet another cut. He has now served four years.

How did either Mrs Rolle or Mr Bain come to the conclusion that they had the authority to be negotiating FNM seats and placements therein? Surely, both of them have gotten too big for their political breeches. Unfortunately, neither individual elevated themselves to the level of decorum and carriage befitting the role of modern day statespersons. Rather than inclusivity, this is yet another example of the dumbing down of local politics.

The Bahamas is no better off because of the Lanisha Rolle experience and chapter one of Lincoln Bain’s foray onto the political frontlines is not an Oscar winning performance. We are left thinking that Mr Bain is ethically challenged and that he sold out his colleague to save himself.

There is a legal side to this as well. Given that Mr Bain recorded a private conversation between himself and Mrs Rolle, seemingly without her knowledge and/or authorisation, the Listening Devices Act may have been contravened. If so, it is possible that an offence was committed.

The entire Bain-Rolle affair should be a wakeup call for the FNM. What’s more, the vision of the FNM must be identified and seized upon. The FNM must carefully vet its future standard bearers and ensure that it projects itself as the people’s party. Anything less could see the party go down in flames.

On another note, congratulations to my good friend Dr Duane Sands on his appointment to the senate. His appointment was long overdue and is well deserved. He brings much substance and a commitment to the Bahamian people. I think that the FNM is lucky to have him in their midst.

Comments and responses to ajbahama@hotmail.com

UNCLE AARON

Today marks the fifth year since my uncle, Aaron Gibson, tragically died in a motorcycle accident in Long Island. He was like a father to me. I still think about it all the time.

I miss his spirit, his advice and the great times we spent together. He taught me how to drive, how to talk to the ladies, how to play basketball and so many other life lessons.

I cannot express the gaping hole that his death has left in our family. He was one of a kind, a very special, loving and sincere human being. He was one of few persons that I have met in my lifetime who would give someone their last and who never thought of himself as being so much better than another fellow human being to extend a helping hand.

Today, sir, I honour you!