The Tribune

AFTER reflecting in last week’s column about events in The Bahamas and Britain during the past year – in particular about the coronavirus crisis and a mood of growing optimism for the coming year – it might be interesting to look today at developments on the world stage as well.

Throughout history, prophets and seers have sought to anticipate the future, even predicting specific outcomes. But forecasting is a hazardous business. Amid perpetual uncertainty, the unexpected is always just around the corner and can make earlier calculations worthless. So, many agree soothsayers should do no more than express probabilities. That does not deny, for example, the validity of special methods used by banks and businesses in assessing risk. But, generally, in international relations there are so many imponderables that, realistically, countries are limited to anticipating broad trends and developments which may affect their national interests.

Historians suggest that in the aftermath of a pandemic politics tends to become more turbulent. People who have suffered from the death of loved ones and prolonged personal deprivation in one way or another tend to blame their own governments – justifiably or not – for failing to curb the effects of a pandemic. They want an end to it and a return to their normal lives. They also know it may have had a damaging effect on relationships between nations while existing disputes, conflicts and rivalries continue to ebb and flow. So, as the current coronavirus crisis is far from over, commentators broadly agree that at the start of 2022 the world is in an especially unsettled and unpredictable state and, in geopolitical terms, it could be living dangerously during the course of the coming year. There is invariably a plethora of public views about varying issues around the globe, but space constraints today allow mention of only a few.

For many Western democracies, 2021 was a year of indecision, disunity and discord. The prime example is the US itself. Not even the most charitable of observers could call President Biden’s first year in office a success and many now believe the Democrats will lose control in November of both the Senate and the House of Representatives. His ratings are consistently low and some consider he is too old for such a high pressure job while his foreign policy has been branded by some in the UK press as a “complete disaster”.

One example was the severely botched withdrawal from Afghanistan which has not only infuriated other nations but allowed the brutal Taliban regime to take a stranglehold over the country. Another is his negative stance on the Northern Ireland Protocol in relation to the UK’s withdrawal from the EU on the grounds it could imperil the power-sharing Good Friday Agreement. This is said to be preventing negotiation of a UK/US trade deal.

But, most importantly, the President’s attempts to rein in Vladimir Putin’s aggressive behaviour in relation to Ukraine by threatening “massive consequences” seem to have had little effect so far. The Russian leader’s deployment of thousands of troops near the border appears to be continuing while he has made clear his opposition to Ukraine’s potential membership of NATO. However, talks at official level are now taking place in Geneva and it remains to be seen to what extent they will be affected by new tensions over Kazakhstan.

Reportedly, the EU is being sidelined over Ukraine as Biden and Putin talk to each other directly while leaving the bloc a virtual bystander in this huge security issue in its own backyard. But perhaps this is not surprising when the EU itself has many disagreements over foreign policy, defence and security.

Other major issues causing particular concern are China’s military exercises near Taiwan which are seen by some as rehearsals for a possible invasion while President Xi Jinping tightens his grip on power domestically. Then there is the serious worry that new infectious variants of coronavirus will follow the Delta and Omicron strains and cause further widespread disruption.

In addition, there are continuing problems in relation to climate change. Despite pledges at COP26 last November to limit global warming to the 1.5C target, analysts are now saying the world will still become warmer by at least 1.8C from pre-industrial levels, and more likely by 2.4C. Meanwhile, there is the danger Iran may be closer than ever to building a nuclear bomb while talks continue to try to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal – and there are serious concerns about political repression in Belarus, ongoing conflicts like the civil war in Ethiopia and the brutality of the military regime in Myanmar, including the most recent harsh treatment of political leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Against this background, many consider the West now needs strong leadership in the face of growing authoritarianism around the globe. But the current US President is preoccupied by troubles at home - the pandemic, high inflation, violent crime, chaos at the southern border and “wokeism” in education – and, to the consternation of many, there are serious doubts that he will ever be able to provide what is needed on the world stage.

A son to be proud of

It should surely come as no surprise that the passing last week of Sidney Poitier, at the age of 94 has stimulated an extraordinary outpouring of tributes together with enormous sadness and regret.

He was not only a brilliant actor and Hollywood icon himself but also a trailblazer credited with breaking racial barriers for his fellow black actors and regarded as an inspiration and “guiding light” for them. He was equally said to be someone who lit up the lives of so many other people as well.

Everyone is aware, of course, that Sidney Poitier was the first such actor to win an Oscar – and this was in 1964. But the many accolades and outpouring of love for him from around the world are a testament to his extraordinary life and achievements in other fields as well and the indelible mark he has left on so many. It has been widely recorded that he was a philanthropist, philosopher and humanitarian as well as an activist who promoted social and racial justice; and, at a personal level, he was reputed to be warm and gracious with an unwavering sense of decency and a loving husband and father. His achievements were recognised in the US in 2009 when he received from the then President, Barack Obama, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

To those of my generation, his films during the 1960s which brought him tremendous box office success – like “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”, “To Sir, With Love” and “In the Heat of the Night” – were essential watching and made a trip to the cinema a real pleasure.

Surprisingly, however, as far as I can see in the many international tributes to him there has been little reference to his Bahamian background and the official recognition in his own country of his life and outstanding achievements. He was knighted by The Queen as long ago as 1974 – and Sir Sidney was a true Son of The Bahamas.

Not only, of course, was the new bridge to Paradise Island named after him in 2012 but he also served as Bahamian ambassador to Japan as well as to UNESCO – the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. It has also been so interesting and inspiring these last few days to delve once again in to his book entitled “The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography” which was published in 2007. In this excellent memoir he looked back at his celebrated life and career, and his account of family life growing up on Cat Island is fascinating, revealing and heart-warming.

Sidney Poitier was a man of extraordinary talent and achievement. In the words of famous Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry, who paid a notably warm and heartfelt tribute to him, he was an “iconic trailblazer” - “You are and always will be the true measure of a man – yours was a life well lived”.

Here is the news... it’s the Beeb’s birthday

The British Broadcasting Corporation is perhaps one of the best known bodies in the world. This year marks the centenary of its founding. The vision of its first Director General, Lord Reith, in 1922 was that it should inform, educate and entertain. As a publicly-funded broadcaster, it operates under a Royal Charter, which, inter alia, protects its editorial independence. It receives an annual licence fee from British households, companies and organisations for using equipment to receive live TV broadcasts.

Whatever its critics may say – and there are those in Britain who love to complain about it for one reason or another and, in particular, because of its perceived lack of impartiality – the BBC remains a revered institution and a national asset. It is at the heart of the country’s public service broadcasting system and touches the lives of millions living in the UK as well as huge numbers living beyond its shores. One reason for its worldwide fame is that, in addition to its domestic programming, it broadcasts around the globe, not only in English but also in the languages of many other countries - and I recall many years ago in Northern Nigeria watching this working in practice as I sat with people listening intently on their portable shortwave radios to the BBC’s overseas service in the local language of Hausa.

The Corporation enjoys generally a worldwide reputation for accuracy, reliability, truth and honesty. As a result, it has wide-ranging influence and is an important part of British so-called soft power. As a public service broadcaster, it has become the envy of the world as a trustworthy global news provider. But, of course, it is also so much more than a purveyor of news, since the Corporation is known for the high standard of its coverage of sport, comedy, drama and entertainment, not to mention excellent documentaries on a variety of subjects.

To celebrate its 100th birthday, the BBC is reported to be planning a special programme which will reflect the unique role the cherished national broadcaster has played in the lives of so many from its creation up to the present day. It has announced a bumper year of sports, events and landmark commissions for TV, Radio and Online to reflect its original purpose to inform, educate and entertain the nation – and all under the banner BBC100.

Notwithstanding all these positive aspects, there is always a downside since nothing is perfect. Not everyone is content with the BBC. Over the years it has been criticised for harbouring a Left-wing bias. Its Royal Charter stipulates that as a public broadcaster it should exercise impartiality and objectivity in the public interest. It is required to identity the main strands of discourse in the country and to give each an opportunity to be heard so as to provide “a level playing field for competing views to be expressed, heard, answered and debated”. But, for some, it is failing to comply with these charter obligations.

For example, in recent times the BBC has been accused of too great an emphasis on youth, diversity and minority groups, and even of attempting to rewrite English history. Moreover, some of its journalists have been under fire in the UK press for showing political bias and what has been described as a Left-wing progressive take on everything. Some also argue that the organization has become a bureaucratic and unaccountable monolith and that in modern times it should be opened up to competition.

Nonetheless, for many in Britain and overseas the BBC remains a cherished and much appreciated institution on which they depend for news and entertainment. So, it is reasonable to expect a majority will be looking forward to celebration of its 100th anniversary during the course of this year.