Dear Editor,
The Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), the party which I fully support, made a terrible tactical decision back in 2012, when our operatives erected huge billboards across New Providence which sought to bring attention to the horrific number of alleged homicides perpetuated under the FNM's watch leading up to the general election of that year.
At the time it seemed "cute" and an effective way to highlight the rising trend of serious crimes at that juncture. Mind you, the billboards were just what the doctor may have ordered, but, in hindsight, we, the PLP, made a tactical error of the highest order. Crime and the fear of crime have retarded the growth of our national and personal development.
We are spending tens of millions of dollars on court houses, manpower and other resources, but the results are dismal at best. We are not, I submit, receiving value for money. I am not one to engage in the senseless blame game, which seems to be playing out between society, the police and the politician. There is no one single answer to the plague of crime and there is little, if anything, anyone is able to do to contain the fear of crime. It is what it is.
Many of us are wringing our collective hands and bemoaning the fact that we seem to have lost our fundamental traditions and societal mores. In short, many of our younger people, and some not-too-old ones, have evolved into nasty, brutish beasts with absolutely no regard for God, much less man. This evolution was predicted decades ago by the late, great and indomitable Sir Lynden Oscar Pindling. Many thought that he was talking out of his head, but time has proven him correct.
The barbarians, back in the day at any given time, could have been the Huns or the Germanic tribes, who at various junctures invaded and over-ran Europe and the so-called Western world on a regular basis. They raped, pilfered and destroyed with abandonment. The barbarians, of our own making, are now at our collective gates here in New Providence and parts of Grand Bahama. These are the only two inhabited islands where we seem to have hot spots of crime.
I hate to say it, but bad news should and must always be faced head-on. The bad news is that a large majority of our younger people is anti-social. Many of them are intellectually dumb and are prone to emulate what they consider to be a bling-bling lifestyle with all of the negatives that go with the same. They will lash out to assault someone, be it man, woman, boy or girl, with impunity. It would not be in your best interest to yuck up some of their vexations because you could end up as another homicide stat.
The barbarians are now at the gate, and the question is, how do we stop them? It would be impossible to do so. They have already infiltrated our midst and until they eliminate each other the bloody carnage will go on unabated. It is as simple as that. Political barbarians are also at the gate.
We all remember how Dr. Hubert Minnis ranted and raved against Renward Wells (PLP-Bamboo Town) a few years ago. He (Minnis) demanded answers from Wells and the PLP administration about the letter of intent. One would think that by now Wells would have told Minnis about what went down. Now that Wells is in Minnis' orbit, not a word from either of them. Misleading the electorate? It starts at the top, across the board.
The average law-abiding citizen and resident has very little to fear about crime, and unless one is in the wrong place at the wrong time, it is highly unlikely that you'd become a stat. The prime minister is my political leader and an individual whom I greatly admire. Similarly, Dr. Bernard Nottage (PLP-Bains Town and Grants Town), our minister of national security, is a stand up guy. They are wrong, however, in their assessments on crime and their knee-jerk reactions, with all due respect.
We do not have a "Wild West" in our wonderful country. That was a bad choice of words on the part of my beloved and visionary leader. I am sure that he innocently uttered those words in a moment of speaking off the cuff, which, at this electoral season, conveyed the wrong message to the average Bahamian. Nottage says that he is going to call out the officers of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force to assist in the fight against crime. This is dead wrong along with his suggestions of restricting the free movement of citizens and residents.
Nottage's suggestions, while sounding good, will not solve anything except to create more legal work for hot-shot lawyers, who will challenge such legislation as unconstitutional. In addition, the police or defense force officers cannot possibly cover every square foot of our islands. The commissioner has bad public relations skills and he, too, is prone to dramatics and platitudes. He is "too cute" for his own good, in my opinion.
Now, he and the PM appear to be publicly feuding and talking over each other's heads. This is wrong and can only negatively impact my party, the PLP. The PM should immediately do two things: call a national prayer service in conjunction with the so-called religious leaders and civil society for Fort Charlotte, and call a national conclave with all political parties, stakeholders and other Bahamians of good will to, again, discuss and dissect the causes of crime and come up with workable and, if necessary, draconian adjustments to the Bail Act.
Other than this, the PM, with all due respect, needs to make a guest appearance on Real Talk Live Prime Time sooner rather than later. Yes, the barbarians are at the gate, but in all things, even this, to God be the glory.
- Ortland H. Bodie Jr.
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