By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
March 15, 2025

In the end, it comes down to the total miscalculation of a man who talks about responsibility but is averse to planning for the future. He never examines any issue facing the country deeply enough. Now, he insists “our coo coo will be cooked if the Dragon gas deal with Venezuela goes sour”. He even asked his fellow citizens “to send your telepathic power to overcome the negative nonsense about the failure of the Dragon deal”. (Express, March 11.)

Such an entreaty sounds more like an obeah chant than a carefully articulated policy needed to face our challenges in a fast-changing world. Here is the Leader of Our Grief and Sorrow asking his citizens to transmit positive vibes, Shango-like, to influence the action of the President of the United States who is determined to transform the world to his country’s advantage.

Anyone who has ears to hear knows that the US President wishes to annex Canada, buy Greenland, take over a part of Ukraine for its minerals, and regain control of the Panama Canal. He is intent on disrupting the contemporary world order and initiating a new era of imperialist conquest. Our obeah chants are not likely to reach his ears.

It is possible that the Leader may have been carried away by a false sense of unencumbered sovereignty. He may not be aware that a country always adapts its diplomatic and political policies to the practical needs of its time and place for its survival. It’s a lesson that Charles Darwin taught us when he wrote On the Origin of Species in 1859. Although Darwin was talking about natural life, his theory is also relevant to social and political life.

The hollowness of the Leader’s notion of unencumbered sovereignty is belied by the fact that a day before his gallant pronouncement—“I don’t care if I never go back there again in my life”—he was in the United States.

It would have been better if he had made his pronouncement before he had travelled to the US. It would even have been better if we didn’t have to rely on so many foreign doctors and nurses to help us out.

The Dragon deal was iffy from the start, given the rising nationalism of the US right. In planning to use Venezuela’s gas reserves to stabilise our economy, he should have thought of the consequences if things went sour. He never told us what our alternatives were.

Now that the deal seems to be souring, he blames his failures upon those people in the country who, he says, “are wanting to celebrate the failure of the Dragon deal. But I can tell you, they won’t have any problems. They stashed away enough, so you who haven’t stashed away anything—it is your condition that they are laughing at” (Express, March 11). To the end of his reign, he continues to blame others for his failures.

We are also faced with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s false claims about the Cuban doctors working in our country. We should resist such false claims. Idi Stuart, president of T&T National Nursing Association, offers an appropriate response: “It would be unfortunate if we lose access to their [Cuban doctors’] expertise…They bring in ICU, theatre, and trauma nurses, as well as specialist doctors such as neurosurgeons.” (Express, March 14.)

Great Britain, our colonial master that ruled us for over 160 years (1797-1962), is putting its foot down. It doesn’t want our citizens in their country. Like the Leader, sometimes we are a bit too cheeky for our own good. Now, we need a visa to enter the United Kingdom. Perhaps none of us ever wish to visit the UK again.

But hollering stories about our sovereignty, suggesting we can do what we want to do in this world without any consequences, is a non-starter. Any state is always linked with the sovereignty of other states. It’s a relationship which, like any other relationship, must be handled carefully. We must always bear in mind the economic and power differentiation among states.

Tragically, at this point in our history we are caught up with the silliness of who is the prime minister and who is the political leader, while the society grinds to a halt. Instead of working out a collective national plan to fit our coo coo-cooked situation, we are selecting Stuart Young to negotiate our destiny.

The Leader of the Opposition also has to be more responsible when she opines on these issues. A racist Trump [Make America White Again] and a fascist Elon Musk are not the examples to follow in these trying times. Caution, common sense, and reciprocity should be our guides to action.