Makandal Daaga
Media Watch has always considered Makandal Daaga something of an odd ball.
It is true the NJAC ‘Chief Servant’ had his 15 minutes of fame in 1970 and was the self-proclaimed leader of the Black Power disturbances which led to radical changes in Trinidad and Tobago society.
Although there are several persons who were jailed in 1970 during the disturbances and who will dispute ever having appointed Daaga as leader of anything, the ‘Chief Servant’ recently took out a large advertisement in the Sunday newspapers proclaiming Tubal Uriah ‘Buzz’ Butler as ‘Father of the Nation’ with Daaga himself similarly positioned as ‘godfather’ or ‘stepfather’. All based on the fact that he received some faint praise from Newsday columnist Peter O’Connor. It is truly pathetic that after 40 years Daaga still craves the approbation of white people.
Daaga has attempted to milk those 15 minutes from 1970 for the last 40 years (despite a series of lost deposits in elections) until he was resurrected from the political cemetery by Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Winston Dookeran. He has even been given the sinecure of Cultural Ambassador, which probably explains why in any matter involving the Prime Minister, Daaga is always the first to extend an exceedingly brown tongue for inspection.
Media Watch has no problem with Daaga’s wish to sing for his supper in the winter of his years, but when he does so at the expense of already threatened hard-working journalists we need to call him out.
It may have escaped the population that the self-described champion of the rights of African people was chairman of a Government-appointed committee selected to find ways to observe the United Nations Year of the People of African descent. And that the entire year passed almost unnoticed with no significant steps being taken by Daaga and his committee to honour in any way people of African descent or to commemorate the event. That does not mean, however, His Excellency Makandal Daaga, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary did not continue to live off the fat of the land like all those African despots who thrive in opulence while their people starve.
At a time when journalists are being fired, suspended and starved into compliance with the Government, and where the Mirror has stood-out in remaining steadfast against an administration which international media bodies have accused of eroding our freedom of speech and expression, Daaga goes on television to accuse the media of being unfair to the PM.
It is to her credit that PM Persad-Bissessar immediately sought to correct the arse-licker even as he tenaciously sought to keep tongue firmly in place. It is important that we call out Daaga, whose attempt to suck up to the PM would have emboldened those like Foreign Affairs and Communications Minister Suruj Rambachan, who already see legitimate media reporting as part of some clandestine attempt to besmirch the character of the PM.
As a man who has never had a real job, Daaga should show some respect to all those journalists who work against difficult odds to bring all the news and information important to the public.
Daaga was acting on instruction from Kamla–it was a preplanned good cop (her?bad cop (him) routine. she is known to exercise it to mask her true despotic nature.