UB Confers Honorary Degree on Sir Lynden Pindling

As of Monday, May 29, 2017

SIR Lynden Pindling envisioned that one day the College of The Bahamas would become the University of The Bahamas, a dream realised with the university’s charter on November 10, 2016.

At its historic inaugural commencement held on May 25, the university posthumously conferred upon Sir Lynden its first honorary degree.

Acting on behalf of UB trustees, upon the recommendation of faculty, UB President Dr Rodney Smith presented the degree, Doctor of the University Honoris Causa, to Sir Lynden’s daughter Monique Pindling.

According to a press release from the University of The Bahamas, Sir Lynden “deserved the honour because he served the country with distinction as prime minister; he became the ‘father of the nation’ and under his leadership sovereignty for The Bahamas came to fruition July 10, 1973; and as a significant part of his vision for a better Bahamas and its citizens, he spearheaded the establishment of COB which has transitioned to the University of The Bahamas.”

The release continued: “This year, UB started a new tradition of conferring honorary degrees upon deserving Bahamians who have contributed significantly to the development of the University of The Bahamas and made a lasting impact on the country.

“One of the longest serving heads of government in the commonwealth, Sir Lynden served as prime minister of The Bahamas for nearly 26 years, during which he led the country to independence from Great Britain on July 10, 1973. Additionally, he served as a member of the House of Assembly for 41 consecutive years.

“The grandson of a Bahamian seaman and son of a retired policeman (Arnold F Pindling), Sir Lynden was born March 22, 1930. He attended Government High School from 1943 to 1946. At the age of 18, Sir Lynden left The Bahamas to attend King’s College London, where he received his Bachelor of Laws (LLB) in 1952. He was called to the English Bar, Middle Temple, in January 1953 and to the Bahamas Bar in August of the same year.

“Sir Lynden joined the minority Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) shortly after its formation in 1953 and in 1965 was elected to the House of Assembly for the Southern District, New Providence. He was elected senior member for the South Central District in 1962 and the following year became chairman of the PLP.

“In the general election of 1967, he chose to run in an Out Island constituency and his victory helped secure a majority for his party, without which, the formation of a government would have been impossible,” the press release noted.

“Under Sir Lynden’s leadership, The Bahamas became a sovereign nation on July 10, 1973. The following year, the College of The Bahamas was established through an Act of Parliament and in February 1977, Sir Lynden officially opened the institution, foreshadowing that it would one day become the University of The Bahamas.

“Sir Lynden led the PLP to election victories in six successive polls: 1967, 1968, 1972, 1977, 1982 and 1987. On July 9, 1997, one day before the 24th anniversary of independence, Sir Lynden resigned from Parliament, bringing to an end a political era in The Bahamas,” the university noted.

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TalRussell 7 years, 5 months ago

Comrades! So sad we as a collective peoples have not been able to elevate Lynden Pindling to rise above petty party politics. Pindling's contributions and sacrifices are far too plentiful and important to the nation - not to be shared and celebrated with proud - by all Bahamalanders.

ThisIsOurs 7 years, 5 months ago

I agree, he was a brilliant man and we can acknowledge that and honour him but also acknowledge that he fell from glory and betrayed our trust.

lobsta 7 years, 5 months ago

I agree. Something has to be said about his ability to keep people defending him despite how terrible a leader he was.

ThisIsOurs 7 years, 5 months ago

Lol. That was a part of his brilliance:) he had God given leadership traits, misused in the end, but he had them

sheeprunner12 7 years, 5 months ago

Lynden Pindling ........... Knighted by QE2 ....... now honoured by UB Board ....... LMAO ...... What are the qualifications for these high society awards???????? ...... Hope it is not for his slogan "Step Now to the New Frontier" ............. He sure took us to a new frontier in 1984.

TalRussell 7 years, 5 months ago

Comrade Sheeprunner12, you know what's strange...... the black natives have no issues giving Premier POP Symonette (and even Sir Stafford) their honoured due place in Bahamaland's history.
Comrade, we are a good and decent peoples, and we can and should do better...much better, by Pindling.

licks2 7 years, 5 months ago

It was LOP who kept those honors from deserving Bahamians. . .no matter their color of skin. . . yes. . .we are a decent people. . .LOP was a criminal minded despot who annihilate any citizen who did not allow him to do as he wish. . .. yes. . .he is worthy of being called the one who envision and initial building towards a modern Bahamas. . .including building on which the current Bahamian criminal is organized as he did with the PLP party!!

sheeprunner12 7 years, 5 months ago

Just look at the quality of those who received the title of "Sir" in our country recently .......... and "QC" ......... then tell me if there is much value in those dinosaur titles anymore ........ Take for example: Sir Snake ....... Allyson Gibson QC

bahamalove 7 years, 5 months ago

Remember, Allyson recommended herself for title of QC. Now she can charge outrageous legal fees in her private practice. Sure set herself up nicely.

banker 7 years, 5 months ago

Lynden Oscar Swindling was and is a scumbag bottom-feeder criminal. He was supposed to lead the nation to independence and glory, and instead he trafficked in evil, betraying everything civil in government and humanity.

It is shameful to pretend otherwise and we are just lying to ourselves and retarding our advancement as a nation. We cannot deny the truth, and if we do, then we will always be the banana republic that he made us. We could have been great -- the Switzerland of the Caribbean, and instead we are the crime capital, sewer hole -- a Third World country, thanks to Swindling's legacy.

TalRussell 7 years, 5 months ago

Comrade Banker, can't you bring yourself to go back to earlier times to find a better meaning to things about Pindling that bother you? Often if we look deeper we can find a better meaning that may have been hidden because of our horse's blinders.

banker 7 years, 5 months ago

Yes ... schools in the Family Islands -- given to Pindling -- but then Loftus Roker went and destroyed them.

In the years that he was PM, it was kleptocracy from the start. Even your bible states that you cannot build a house on sand. We needed a nation founded on the bedrock of truth and integrity.

The metaphor and analogy is that the teacher (the British) was forced out of the classroom as the authority figure, and the class bully took over. And he was a bully. I've read every single word that the Kerry Commission uncovered about him and the Bannisters, Mailman Bowe, Howard Smith the cop -- the whole lot of them. They were running a criminal conspiracy taking drug money and selling our patrimony.

Once you shit in the bathtub, you can't talk about the cleansing power of the water in it, and that is what you are trying to do.

I am totally pissed off, that I have to leave this cursed limestone rock, because in the one life that I have to lead on this earth, my homeland was used as a toilet by Swindling and his criminals.

We expected better. We called him Black Moses. He was revered. And he spit in our faces, raped our nation and enriched himself. And no amount of lies and revision is going to change that. And if you can't see that, you are part of the problem and not of the solution, and your rational faculties and intelligence are faulty -- or you willfully participated in the rape of this nation and enriched yourself.

It is not a matter of shades of gray when it comes to Swindling. It is like pregnancy - absolute! Either you are a criminal or a patriot. He was a sub-human criminal.

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