In the midst of the unprecedented anxieties that have been gripping the attention of the population, the main being what we thought was the swearing-in of the nation’s first Indo/Chinese-Trinbagonian Prime Minister, Stuart Young, out of the blue pops up the date of the 2025 general election.
It was well orchestrated: timed mere days following former prime minister Dr Keith Rowley having seized every available opening in his planned television interview to share critical insights defending his tenure over the past ten years.
It was in his response to the question, how difficult was it to govern the country?, that I was jolted. Dr Rowley responded in part:
“...we pull in very many directions... I haven’t even mentioned our differences of religion, of ethnicity, of geography... they all play a role... what the governance requires is to bring them all together to a common purpose”.
Rowley continued: “When we went to play that football against the United States... that was for me a moment... when the entire nation had a common purpose.” He added: “...we didn’t have a common purpose even on Independence... So, there are very few moments when we come together”.
At long last, here was the former prime minister, in the closing days of his tenure, in my humble view, endorsing what I had started championing from as far back as 2012: the imperative to establish a national purpose for Trinidad and Tobago—a cause I had been repeatedly advocating in the public domain, single-handedly, since September 2022, with no reciprocal interest ever having been displayed in quarters where it mattered most.
Here are relevant extracts proffered in my Express five-part series, “Nationhood: Fact or Fiction”, published in September 2022—
“But this (Nationhood) cannot be pursued in a vacuum. A prerequisite is a clearly defined national purpose: arriving at consensus on the vision of becoming that ‘model nation at last’, determine, in specific terms what are the unique characteristics of that model nation with which we wish to be instinctively branded”.
“...there can be no all-encompassing nation-building in the absence of an impregnable national purpose. It is only in this spirit that we will ensure achievement of our national purpose, not without difference of opinion, but without those deep and destructive depths of discord which have bedevilled our nation for the past 60 years”.
In furtherance thereof, six easily assimilable cornerstones were identified for consideration, collectively, as T&T’s National Purpose: Interracial Solidarity—dwelling together in peace and harmony; A Congenial Industrial Relations Environment—a culture of non-confrontational employer/employee interaction; Best-in-Class Productivity—highest levels of total factor productivity among comparative countries worldwide; Exemplary Standards of Work Ethic—exceptional work place decorum, protocols and practices; Economic Prudence—living within our means; and A Law-Abiding Society—prominence among the most crime-free nations worldwide.
Was it coincidence, during the television interview and the address delivered at the PNM candidates’ presentation, that Dr Rowley actually touched every one of the foregoing cornerstones? Was he perhaps more subconsciously enamoured with them than he was aware of? Had Dr Rowley put these cornerstones on the national agenda during his tenure, what would have been the likelihood of a more socio-economically advanced Trinidad and Tobago today?
And so, better late than never, I rely upon the new Prime Minister, Stuart Young. He brings to the table a fresh start, a new beginning for transitioning T&T into the new society we all long for.
As a consequence, if there is anything to be gained from this exposé, it is that Prime Minister Young should waste no time putting appropriate mechanisms in place to address T&T’s inexplicable way forward without a national purpose.
To do otherwise betrays the dreams and aspirations of the multitudes that converged upon The University of Woodford Square, reminiscent of the spirit which had driven the citizenry’s illustrious expectations from inception.
Rebirthing The University of Woodford Square was symbolic, especially its potential to impact the psyche of our young citizens. Collaterally of like worthiness, sitting imposingly alongside is now the Eric Williams Memorial Collection, housed wherein were staged the most memorable series of dynamic debates on Aristotle between Dr Eric Williams himself and Dom Basil Matthews, there too he eloquently delivered his epic dissertation titled “Massa Day Done”, arguably the most enlightening and power-packed by a Caribbean scholar demolishing colonial servitude in all its inglorious intemperance.
What an epiphany of interconnectedness, an unshakeable foundation upon which to superimpose that new society that has been eluding T&T for generations, at long last now poised to become a glorious reality.
A national purpose for Trinidad and Tobago beckons. Come April 28, 2025, it must become Prime Minister Young’s overarching priority.
I wish him well.
CITATION/CREDIT: Roy Mitchell | Opinion Columnist Trinidad Express
— Roy Mitchell is a former special adviser and co-ordinator, National Tripartite Advisory Council (NTAC).
