Dear Editor, In one of his final sermons, "The Drum Major Instinct", the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "There is deep down within all of us an instinct. It's a kind of drum major instinct -- a desire to be out in front, a desire to lead the parade, a desire to be first." A drum major leads a marching band. He is responsible for providing commands to the ensemble regarding where to march, what to play and what time to keep. For all intents and purposes, the drum major is the most important member of a marching band.

Without him there would be chaos and confusion. He keeps things organized and structured. While the size and composition of a marching band can vary greatly, there can only be one drum major. In a political sense, political parties have one true leader, or a drum major. For instance, the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) was led by the legendary Sir Lynden O. Pindling for nearly four decades. During his lengthy career in frontline politics he was the unquestionable leader of the PLP. In 1970, Pindling told several of his PLP colleagues who were becoming discontented with his leadership, "If you can't fish, cut bait; if you can't cut bait, get the hell out of the boat."

While the PLP had its share of many challenges and internal squabbles, the party always made it a point to present a united face to the Bahamian electorate come election time. That is why the party pulled off six consecutive election victories in 1967, 1968, 1972,1977,1982 and 1987. Everybody knew who the leader was. There simply was no question about it. Pindling was the face of the PLP. The PLP was good at not airing its dirty laundry in public. Today, the Free National Movement (FNM) appears to be in a leadership crisis.

Former Minister of Labor in the Ingraham administration, Dion Foulkes, issued a lengthy press release that essentially undermined the current leader of the opposition party, Dr. Hubert Minnis (Killarney). Foulkes denied allegations that the FNM government victimized PLP supporters. A few weeks back, Dr. Minnis told the press that there had been some level of victimization under the FNM, but added that the degree of victimization under the FNM was not as bad as it is now under the PLP regime. Dr. Minnis' shocking admission has peeved many FNM supporters.

All the same, several weeks after the May 7 general election a group of PLP supporters, under the auspices of Michelle Reckley, the new head of Urban Renewal 2.0 in Grand Bahama, also levied charges of victimization under the FNM administration. Several of them claimed to have been fired by FNM supporters, for no logical reason other than for their politics. If these people are telling the truth then Minnis was right after all. Still, the cry of many diehard FNMs throughout the years has been that former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham kept too many prominent PLPs in important government posts.

FNMs were under the impression that since their party was in high office, they should get the spoils. Ingraham, despite what PLP naysayers might say, at least attempted to put an end to political victimization. Minnis should have said that to the press. He should have given some credit for this. Instead, he gave his political opponents plenty fodder to chew on, and he essentially undermined his own party. The PLP will never admit to victimizing anyone. Never. Still, despite having peeved many FNMs, Minnis is still the leader of that party.

I think the time has now come for FNMs to make up their minds concerning Minnis. Do they want him to be their leader or not? Is the hierarchy of the opposition party willing to keep the Killarney member of Parliament until 2017, as their leader. If they don't want him to lead the party, they should hold a special convention and elect somebody else, instead of embarrassing him in public. FNMs need to remember that Minnis was thrust into the leadership role after many of the potential leaders of the FNM like Tommy Turnquest, Zhivargo Laing and Carl Bethel lost their election races. I don't think Minnis asked for this.

I have seen several letters to the press by diehard FNMs undermining Minnis' leadership. Now, Foulkes has done essentially the same thing with his controversial statement published in The Nassau Guardian. Even more alarming is the fact that Foulkes didn't run the statement by Minnis as the leader of the FNM. Obviously, there is a disconnect between the two FNMs. The question now on many political observers' minds is this: Who is the true leader of the FNM? Is it Foulkes? Is it Minnis? Is it Loretta Butler-Turner? Is it Ingraham? There have also been reports of a rift between Butler-Turner and Minnis.

Some are saying that there is an ongoing power struggle between the two. I hope this unsettling rumor is untrue. However, at the rate the FNM is going right now, it will suffer another crushing defeat in the 2017 general election. The FNM must rally behind Minnis if it wants to at least be a viable and strong opposition to the governing PLP. As it stands right now, there are too many drum majors within the FNM party. Too many individuals within the FNM want to lead the party. Too many people want to be first.

Too many FNMs with a drum major instinct. The party needs to make up its mind whether it wants Minnis as its leader. It cannot continually throw spokes in his wheels and expect to remain a formidable force in Bahamian politics. If the party continues to embarrass its leader, then it should forfeit the 2017 general election. There is just no way it can topple the PLP with its leadership in shambles. If this foolishness continues, I won't be wasting my time voting. I am sick and tired of FNM leaders fighting among themselves like cats and dogs.

FNMs need to understand that there can only be one drum major in their party. Minnis was elected at a convention to be the party's drum major. It is high time that FNM band members rally behind him and begin to march in unison. -- Kevin Evans

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