I Man Born Ya

“I Man On Ya, I man born ya, I nah leave ya fi go a Canada”, these words penned by Famous Jamaican Artiste Pluto Shirvington  was the winning song of the National Festival song competition in 1976, showing  a spirit of true patriotism, a love for this land of wood and water, the pearl of the Caribbean Sea. Apparently the some of our leaders no longer hold to the values espoused in this song, one among them being former Senate President, The Rev. Stanley Redwood who decided to pack his bags and run off to Canada in the middle of his term as senate President.

                               

I find it ironic that the same government who constantly discouraging mass migration and brain drain now have among their ranks members who are now guilty of the same offence, the actions by former Senator Redwood are a testament to the hypocrisy that permeates among our leaders, this indeed set a poor example to many  who are still undecided as to whether they will stick out for the long haul here at home until things get better or they will make their fortunes elsewhere, of course there are some who may not have the luxury of making such a choice as penned by Buju Banton in his now classic single entitled Untold Stories: “Who can afford to run will run, But what about those who can’t they will have to stay, Opportunity a scarce, scarce commodity in these times I say”

                                          

This seems to be the typical attitude of some of our political leaders who after years of mismanagement and poor leadership find it more conducive to leave rather than stay and of course those who cannot afford to leave any at all are left to deal with what is left, It’s really disheartening to find that someone who has such a high office in the land, someone who was appointed to sit among our legislators making the laws of the land, could simply just abandon that calling and leave on a whim.

                               

In his defence, Redwood has come out swinging at his detractors saying that he did it for the good of his family and that this was something he  had been planning from as early as 2007, the family bit I can totally understand, but that begs another question, since he had already been planning migration why did he bother to take a seat in the senate, much more the senate chairmanship? , should he not have declined it given that he had already known that he would never serve the full parliamentary term of five years anyway? And even more did the Prime Minister know of his intention, when she suggested to the Governor-General that he should be appointed a Senator? If She did, why did she nominate him?, if she didn’t then why didn’t Redwood inform her of his decision and decline the offer given the circumstances?  These are some of the many questions that need answering .

                      

Behaviour like this on the part of senior politicians is what lead many Jamaican to be skeptical of the political leadership in this country, they say one thing with their lips and then turn around do something different, this does not reflect well at all, if those who are supposed to be at the helm of leadership in this country are calling it quits, what does that say to rest of us, especially those youths who are either skilled in a vocation, or are academically qualified but  still can’t seem to find employment or opportunities to fund and start their own businesses, many of whom are already considering migration, not because they don’t love Jamaica, but simply because they  feel that Jamaica does not have their best interest at heart .

                    

                              

It was  Shirvington who said his famous festival hit I Man Born Ya “Five flight a day to Miami, Don’t mean a thing to this man” , this however is not the sentiment of many who would now love to nothing more  to be on one of those :”five flights”, to be honest, I can’t say I blame them if the captains are willing to jump ship then what exactly is going to stop the rest of the crew from doing the same. I  for one however am not so sure I’m willing to give up on Jamaica just yet, as was said by our Governor-General Sir Patrick Allen in his maiden address after taking office in 2009 “There is nothing wrong with Jamaica that cannot be fixed by what is right with Jamaica I believe in Jamaica. I believe in the people of Jamaica. I am committed to doing my best as I carry out my responsibilities. . . . "I believe” must be etched in every classroom . . .it must be internalized in the heart of every student until dreams are born as to whom they can become and the contribution they can make to the development of their nation. It must be the theme in the morning papers and the optimism of the evening news until the waves wash away our shame and we evolve into a nation destined for greatness.”

Pluto Shirvington's 1976 Classic Festival Hit, "I Man Born Ya"                                 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYGe0yltCAE