By Stabroek News
Copyright stabroeknews
Dear Editor,
Tacuma Ogunseye’s SN epistle (“September 1st will go down in the annals of history as the day Africans in Guyana…” Sep. 17) is full of complaints, but it completely misses the point. The September 1st elections sent a loud and clear message: African Guyanese — along with the rest of the country — are fed up with the racial politics that Ogunseye, David Hinds, Rickford Burke, and others keep pushing.
Aubrey Norton had golden chances to lead but blew them. When Mon Repos vendors were beaten and Indian businesses looted, he could have condemned the violence and defended innocent livelihoods. When young Adriana Younge’s tragic death was twisted into a racial and political weapon, he could have called for unity and truth. Norton missed his moment — and with it, the chance to rise above narrow, tribal politics, thereby condemning him to eventual political wilderness.
People didn’t reject the PNC because they lost pride in their roots. They rejected it because they’re tired of the same old tribal drumbeat that has divided Guyana for decades. These so-called leaders claim to speak for African Guyanese, but all they’ve really done is hold back their own people with endless grievance, anger, and victimhood. That’s not leadership. That’s failure.
Guyanese are not blind. They are more educated, more politically aware, and more determined than ever to demand something better. They want opportunity, fairness, jobs, good governance, and unity — not empty speeches that recycle
yesterday’s fights. The election results prove it. People are moving on, and anyone stuck in the past is going to be left behind.
It’s time to face reality. If you truly care for African Guyanese, then stop beating the tired tribal drum. Stop chaining your people to politics that delivers nothing. The future is not in race-baiting — it’s in competence, inclusivity, and vision.
It’s time to move on. Stop race-based politics. Build One Guyana — for the community, and for the country. The sooner Ogunseye, Hinds, Burke, and others get this through their heads, the better it will be for the very people they claim to represent. The era of racial mobilization is finished. The future belongs to One Guyana.
Dr. Devanand Bhagwan
