The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

I was watching the American news on September 11, 2019 and saw a face I’d not seen in a long time. It was Donald Rumsfeld. He was last Secretary of Defence under President George W Bush.

He and Mr Bush were laying a wreath in commemoration of the anniversary of the terrorist attacks in the United States on that day in 2001. They were in command when terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Centre and Pentagon. Another plane was downed in Pennsylvania. The passengers fought back and it crashed. Around 3,000 died as a result of the attacks.

In watching the coverage I was struck by how old Mr Rumsfeld looked. He was once an intellectual tiger. He had an exceptional career in Government. At that memorial last week, however, he was hunched over and had difficulty moving. I didn’t realise he’s now 87.

That same day I watched the evening news in The Bahamas and had the same reaction when I saw Perry Christie and Hubert Ingraham. They looked old, tired and past their prime.

The point of their press conference was not to help Abaco and Grand Bahama. It was to seek attention. Neither man likes life outside of politics and power. Neither man has found something else fulfilling.

In this moment when the eyes of the world are on The Bahamas and on the Bahamian Prime Minister, neither Mr Ingraham nor Mr Christie can stand, for a moment, that it is not he who is the centre of attention and power as Prime Minister.

Mr Christie whined about them needing to be given roles. Mr Ingraham, in his irrational desire to tear down Dr Hubert Minnis, diminished himself by giving fake news to the public during a crisis. He said fewer deaths may have happened in the shantytowns and more people may have left if the Government had gone to those areas and spoken to the residents in their language.

Mr Ingraham is not up on the facts as he used to be when he was on top of his game. The media was there and covered Government officials in the shantytowns speaking to the people and asking them to leave. They had Creole speakers with them.

It is a disgrace that a former Prime Minister would spread fake news in a crisis. Mr Ingraham should apologise to the Bahamian people for doing that.

All Bahamians have seen the media clip on social media disproving Mr Ingraham’s fake news. Mr Ingraham harmed his legacy attempting to attack Dr Minnis’s Government.

Mr Christie and Mr Ingraham have had their time in charge. Together they governed the Bahamas for 25 years – the same amount of time as their mentor, Sir Lynden Pindling. Neither Mr Christie nor Mr Ingraham will ever be Prime Minister again.

They must accept that and move on with their lives. They should go and find something else that is meaningful to occupy their minds and time other than politics and the lust for power.

Dr Minnis is Prime Minister. Next election the people will choose between him and Philip Davis. No one wants to go back to the Ingraham or the Christie era.

MSG

Nassau,

September 17, 2019.