Lessons We All Should Learn From The Tragedy of Captian Byron Ferguson

The incident of Captain Byron Ferguson is not, nor should it be treated as a partisan issue. My collective experience in government allows me to recall that in previous circumstances similar to that of Captain Ferguson, a simple technocrat mistake becomes the Prime Minister's blame. However, the culture of mediocrity and gross incompetence didn't begin when the Free National Movement was elected on May 10, 2017, it has been a perverse custom in every facet of our society.

A preventable tragedy has aroused the national discourse and has brought about a great pause highlighting a systematic challenge exposing the weaknesses in our national development. Every time our national apparatus which we depend on as a country fails, it creates pressure points that remind us collectively that we have a long way to go in addressing the symptoms of a larger problem. Our response to the gaps and our deficiencies has always been wrapped in the phrase " that's how it is". As a country, we have all become guilty of what we accept and ignore by normalizing the mediocrity as our way of life.

Mediocrity in The Bahamas is a disease, a cancer that eats into the cultural, political and economic fabric of society, and destroys the functioning of vital organs. Our failures as a country are a choice, not an inevitability. The operating dynamics of The Bahamas for the last few decades are no longer viable in meeting our current challenges.

The real story is the Ferguson family rattled in the midst of grief gripping tragedy finding the voice to uncover the truth and to hold into account the neglect of duty to country in great distress. Captain Ferguson was the victim of the state of inadequacy that he advocated against. His commitment to his civic responsibility of social participation should inspire us all. That there is an obligation beyond the ballot box and voting every year. A problem ignored is consent, but the voice of advocacy shapes the course of human history.

Our frustration should not negate the history of sacrifice by the men and women of the Royal Bahamas Defense Force who guard our heritage, but consequential shortfalls dictate answerability. As contributing members of society, we all have a long way to go in perfecting the national building of our country.

Heads do not roll in the Bahamas we don't see the value of resignations no one is ever held accountable. No matter how outrage we get it doesn't last long. The deeper issue is why public officials don't believe we as Bahamians ever deserve an explanation. The family deserve better, we deserve better, our future deserves better.

There is a profound danger in being silent as Bahamian. We have a responsibility to speak up to rattle the injustice and inadequacies of the system. Our silence in The Bahamas is the consequence of fear.

First, they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

- Niem?ller

The voyage to a better Bahamas came at the expense of human suffering and discomforting endurance. From the peace of nature stolen from the Lucayans wiped out by the scars of slavery, to the story of poor black Kate whose death sparked a movement in Exuma led by Pompey a Creole slave, to a Women's Suffrage Movement striding side by side with a soul heavy with a cause.

To a ceremonial mace, that symbolizes authority, hurled out of a window, sending forth a ripple of political wind that focused the nation on the plight and struggles of its people; to the Burma Road Riot which brought forth buds that bloomed into a political and social awakening that ripened the conscience of men and women; to a General Strike, that hastened opposition to a regime that denied taxi drivers an opportunity to make an earning; to a fierce patriot by the name of Ruby Ann Darling who name would be inscribed on the register to vote, making her the first woman registered, breaking the back of electoral discrimination against Bahamian women; to a time where a young premier dreamed large dreams for all.

These intervals of history represent acts of human courage and bravery. For those out there who see the future of our country from a pessimistic view, for those self-proclaimed prophets who preach doom and gloom, for those who incite fear and exploit the challenges of men, I say to you-you do not know Bahamian history because history will show that the Bahamian people are a nation of men and women who toil through despair to get us here. Moreover, we the Bahamian people, despite the challenges, we have always overcome. Despite what they want us to believe, our best days are always ahead of us because it is the human spirit of the Bahamian people from Grand Bahama in the North to Inagua in the South, never to give up. I always believe that the Bahamian people are the center of our nation's hopes and aspirations. The cause of building a promising future for all Bahamians is not a partisan one; it's a fundamental responsibility for us as citizens to work in a national interest. Whether you are a young Bahamian living home or abroad realize your desire of being engineers in your country's future

As long as we continue to ignore our own self-assessment and soul-searching, we will never become The Bahamas we aspire to be