Submitted by Douglas
DEAR Mia,
It has been over a year since we parted company as party colleagues. I thought it provided us with an opportune time to reflect on the progress we have made on our separate political journeys. I must say M, I feel refreshed and invigorated since […] I have decided to move to the beat of my own drum.
My health has improved somewhat, I am eating healthier and taking my medication and my outlook on life seems all the more optimistic.
The Old Boys club still engages me from time to time, seeking my views on certain matters going on within your circle. They always seem to seek out my company as you would have noticed when we meet at the house. But M, I try to stick to my words when I left and I try not to interfere or air my views on what is going on in your little circle publicly.
I hope you have accepted the reasons why I had to move on. I will reflect a little bit more on them later as I share my thoughts with you now. M, I did not like that you felt insecure and incapable of leading in my shadow. Your insecurity was glaringly obvious and it resulted in this rift which developed between us. You and others who were close to you made it seem that I was attacking, tearing down and not supporting your strategies as the new leader. This was one of the main reasons why I left so that you would have full reign to guide the organisation how you felt best.
You remember I said that I felt that the party had lost its way and its soul? That hurt me to the core M, and I could not stay around and watch it be destroyed while knowing that my efforts to turn it around were not welcomed.
I found that more and more the institution was moving away from its political grounding and philosophy. It seems that you were building your own fan club at the expense of the name and legacy of the institution.
Look M, over the year here are two recent mistakes which you have made which has caused the name of the institution to suffer. When the Transport Board workers went on that strike which disrupted students from getting to their exams, why did you go out there to protest with them? M, it made it seem that you would jump on any bandwagon to tear down this country at anyone’s expense. If the party legitimately felt aggrieved at what was going on at the Transport Board, you should have mounted a platform as the political leader among the members of the Party and call out the government for any potential wrong doing. That is what a political leader would do; so that the party and not you M would get the glory and the support of the people.
Now M, do you know that from the time you encouraged your parliamentary colleagues to march with the NUPW in their protest against the BIDC, that you placed all sorts of political undertones on what should really be an industrial relations matter? I don’t have to explain to you the mess that it caused and the country has not recovered from it yet. Again M, you caused the people to see the party as a villain and not a friend.
You see M, now that I have stepped aside, I hope that you would be the woman who would accept these mistakes as her own. You cannot blame me for the negative impact which the party has suffered as a result of these ill-advised political strategies.
M, you also did some things which I did not like. Many of which were revealed in the Barker Report. I want to assure you that the Barker report has been well circulated. Those close to you are well aware of its contents and it is a source of major discontent among them. You need to deal with this matter M! Come clean and put it behind you, otherwise you will always have a challenge in gaining their support, just as you lost mine.
I do know for a fact that many of your professional and party colleagues are not pleased with the fact that you seem to attract a certain level of privilege because of who you are. Many of them do not like the idea that the path selected for you always seem easier than the road the rest of us must trod. You need to distance yourself from that perception of being entitled and privileged if you want to secure the support of your colleagues and the people in general.
In closing M, I hope that you will take these words as constructive criticism. It may be hard for you to accept coming from me, but I mean well and I will always have the best interest of the party at heart. I am as always available to you for advice and guidance.
Your estranged mentor,
O.A.
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