A response to Leslie Osborne Miller

Mon, Dec 7th 2015, 11:52 PM

Over the past few weeks, the debate over National Health Insurance (NHI) has intensified. It is becoming apparently clear that the dialogue among the relevant stakeholders has deteriorated to what appears to be an "us and them" situation, which is rather unfortunate.

Last week, the debate grew unnecessarily personal when the member of parliament for Tall Pines, Leslie Miller, launched an unsavory, unwarranted and immature attack on the chairman of the Bahamas Insurance Association (BIA). In full disclosure, I acknowledge that the head of the BIA, Emmanuel Komolafe, is this writer's spouse. Further, I do not intend to address the merits for or against the debate on NHI which has degenerated from one of substance to one of malicious attacks borne out of an ignorance that appears to be creeping into our society and in some instances among our leaders.

Elephant in the room
I must confess, that today I hang my head down in shame and embarrassment as a young Bahamian female. Oftentimes as a columnist, I tend to divorce my personal relations from my professional dealings, the reason being that I like to provide an objective view of matters that I speak of although, quite often one can deduce personal conviction within the content of my writings. I also wondered whether I should use this space to air out my frustration on a matter that came so close to home.

The answer is obviously yes. Nevertheless, I intend to provide an objective piece even in the midst of my personal feelings. I hold no brief for anyone, I am simply an independent thinking Bahamian shedding light on what continues to be an elephant in the room.

Some of you may know that my spouse is not a Bahamian, he is a citizen and national of the Republic of Nigeria, but a resident of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas since December 2004. Together, we have three children who have all been born and are being raised in The Bahamas since 2006. There is no need for me to bore readers with details of my personal life as this is irrelevant but to some extent necessary to set the backdrop.

Readers may also know that Mr. Komolafe has had the uncomfortable, unpopular and daunting task of leading the charge on behalf of the insurance industry to assist the government in their efforts to bring about National Health Insurance in a responsible and sustainable manner that serves the best interest of all parties concerned. However, Mr. Komolafe committed a cardinal sin - he as a foreigner became the spokesperson on a very topical issue by virtue of his office in a very xenophobic society and at a time when political parties are in campaign mode rather than in the business of nation building. Some may wonder, what would possess a man to take such a bold move in The Bahamas? Has he forgotten which country he resides in?

Xenophobia
I take umbrage to Leslie Osbourne Miller's remarks when commenting on Mr. Komolafe. I am referring to Miller's comments in The Tribune of December 2, 2015 as reported by Sancheska Brown. In referring to Mr. Komolafe, Miller is quoted as saying that he needs to "head back to his country and see what he could implement there"...

"He is not one of us, so I don't appreciate him (Mr. Komolafe) trying to dictate to us what we should do. He needs to haul his a** back to his country and make a contribution there"..."He wants the government to implement his plan, that plan isn't for the Bahamian people. The government's plan is for the people, the insurance companies' plan is for them."

Miller has the right to his opinion, but he does not have the right to be insulting and disrespectful to a professional working in this country, Bahamian or otherwise. No doubt, it is remarks like these that won Miller a place in the hearts of a certain segment of Bahamian society. He simply plays on the emotions of individuals and sensationalizes in an effort to rally up the masses and has earned himself the title "Potcake".

Perhaps this type behavior would be acceptable in uncivilized societies where there is anarchy and "loose cannons" are free to roam with no fear of reprimand. But The Bahamas is a civilized nation right? We are an enlightened people right?

One would think that after years governing ourselves we have managed to realize that we should have some iota of respect for one another. Miller's remarks are distasteful and insulting to say the least. This begs the question, who died and made him king to the extent that he dictates who should live here and who should live there?

Miller's disrespect
It is moments like these that I decry the ignorance and lack of wisdom that dwells among some of the so-called leaders that run this country. This is the same Leslie Miller who finds it acceptable to publicly insult fellow parliamentarians in a distasteful manner; this is the same Leslie Miller who thought it was acceptable to make a joke about domestic violence while he beat his chest with pride. This is the same Leslie Miller that seeks to deny Bahamian women equal rights with men in our constitution, remarking that Bahamian women who chose to marry foreign men should go to the country of their husband rather than seeking legitimate rights in this country. And this is the same Leslie Miller who saw nothing wrong with insulting civil servants in the public domain at a government-owned corporation which he previously led.

Miller's schizophrenia
However, at the same time this is a man who displays a schizophrenic mentality on so many issues that no one can really take him seriously; yet, the most scary reality is that he is a member of Parliament professing to represent the interests of the Bahamian people. I do not seek to strip Miller of anything that he has accomplished to date. He is by some accounts a local champion who has represented The Bahamas internationally; many will say that he is a good representative and at best has the interest of the Bahamian people at heart. Nevertheless, Miller ought to know that as an elected member of Parliament who is supposedly honorable, he has a responsibility to the people that he leads.

My nine-year-old daughter, who like the late Sir Lynden O. Pindling, has a foreign father, had the unfortunate privilege of listening to a sound bite of Miller appearing on a local talk show in which he made unkind comments about her father. Upon the conclusion of the same she inquired as to where I got the clip from and I informed her. She then went on to say that "that was mean".

My response in the moment was simply..."well, there are a lot of mean people in this country". You see, while my children appreciate that their mother is Bahamian and their father is residing here as a willing guest of their mother, they also appreciate the fact that their father is Nigerian and they are proud of their African heritage. They also by consequence appreciate that there are many non-Bahamians that are residing in this country to help make this little country a better place - they go to school with the children of these individuals. Therefore, it is unfathomable to them that someone would have the audacity to tell their father get out of the country.

Miller's hypocrisy
Yet Miller had no qualms in providing leasehold services to an American investor to house his supermarket; he had no issue with in his words a "cadre of Chinese doctors" who went to Grand Bahama and provided free eye surgery to Bahamians; moreover, he's praying to his God that the foreign investor will come and save us from our woes and magically whisk Baha Mar from its sad state. Moreover, he had no issues when the list of accolades were read for his achievements won when he was a black Bahamian student prospering in America in sports and athletics which contributed to his induction into the National Sports Hall of Fame 2015, just a short few weeks ago.

One wonders how his fellow parliamentary colleagues who are married to non-Bahamians and their spouses have adjusted to these salacious remarks. The silence is telling. Miller, personally this writer is having a difficulty understanding who in fact is "one of us" - for if we were to go by your actions, the Bahamian people would be left undoubtedly confused. For indeed, a man who is double minded is unstable in all his ways. Oh what hypocrisy we witness in our society on a daily basis.

Conclusion
In the final analysis Miller, you will do well to follow the issues carefully and contribute intelligently to debates in this country and stop insulting your fellow Bahamians and professionals either directly or indirectly. The time has come for our leaders to stop dumbing down the population as there are generations of Bahamians that are watching and listening and we should not fall prey or victim to the ignorance and irrationality that so often seeks to govern us.

Professionals should be able to disagree respectfully without resorting to personal and vicious attacks. Mr. Komolafe is married to a Bahamian who chose to return home to help build her great nation. He has chosen to take care of his responsibility and raise his three children in partnership with his Bahamian wife who all have the Komolafe name.

Mr. Komolafe came into the country legally, pays his bills and taxes and by all accounts is a law abiding resident who like Ruth has chosen to make this people his people. If that disqualifies Mr. Komolafe from being a part of the "one of us" club, then you and the other members can keep your membership form. It is my hope that your political comrades will disassociate themselves from your careless remarks, which you have failed to apologize for, as these utterances only seek to divide rather than unite in a country where Bahamians can't do it all by themselves.

o Arinthia S. Komolafe is an attorney-at-law. Comments on this article can be directed to a.s.komolafe510@gmail.com.

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