…but mommy, why the song and not the singer?

Over sixty percent of this nation is under thirty-five years of age. That, by international standards, is a pretty young nation. Over seventy percent of that figure does not know some of the great names that have contributed to the contemporary shape of Guyana. You ask seventy percent of the Guyanese people if they know a Guyanese singer by the name of Johnny Braff; my guess is they would be nonplussed.
In the sixties, he was a famous singer that contributed largely to the resuscitation of pop music in Guyana. If you are to examine our historical contributors, they will run into hundreds. Therefore, the Mayor and City Council cannot arrogate to itself the right to name streets, roadways and places without consulting a wide cross-section of the Guyanese society. The Council must invite suggestions. The scope should be wide. Included must be the major political parties – PPP, PNC, AFC; NGOs, women groups, youth groups. Other stakeholders should include the business community, trade union movement and educational institutions like the University of Guyana.
The format should not be the submission of names to the Council and leave it to them to accept. There must be broad-based discussions on the persons to be honoured. I don’t want to submit Eusi Kwayana then the committee at City Hall discards his name. My point is that the decision must not rest exclusively with the Mayor and City Council.
It has been announced that Orange Walk is to be given a new identity – Electric Avenue – after one of Eddy Grant’s most famous songs. Why the song and not the man?
When people walk on that road, they will ask who is Eddy Grant and you will say the first international superstar in the entertainment field that Guyana produced. That sounds far better than Electric Avenue. One can well imagine, a child asking her mother fifty years from now why is it called Electric Avenue. The mother tells her it came about after a world famous song by a Guyanese singer. The child may ask why not the singer, why the song? Really! Who came up with Electric Avenue? In fact, “Gimme Hope Joanna” was a bigger Grant hit than Electric Avenue
The naming of streets and buildings make the personality live forever, therefore it is no small matter, and the people of Guyana must make sure that the City Council accepts other choices than their own. Generations to come will know there was a President that was assassinated named John F. Kennedy, because one of the busiest airports in the world is named after him. The central airport in France pays honour to President Charles de Gaulle. Generations of Jamaicans to come will know who Bob Marley was because there is a Bob Marley Avenue. It would be a great loss to this nation if in the coming months Guyanese organizations do not demand their right to participate.
The categories should be social activities, politics, business, education, culture, sports, civic spheres, agriculture, the security sector, local government, entertainment, media, law, medicine, human rights, arts/literature/music, nursing, hinterland development, presidential figures among other classifications. I would like to pick Eusi Kwayana for the category of politics, culture, social activities, education and human rights.
Eusi Kwayana has left a huge legacy in this land. There is no way there could be space in a newspaper column to outline the prodigious history of this man and his service to the Guyanese people
I would suggest the National Park be named after Forbes Burnham than the Botanical Gardens. The Gardens were there long before Burnham wore long pants. And there is no philosophical connection with him and the Gardens. It is an entirely different story with the National Park. Burnham birthed this phenomenal landscape that perhaps sees more visitors than the Botanical Gardens and hosts far more activities than the Gardens. Desmond Hoyte must be celebrated in a big way that goes beyond attaching his name to a street. Hoyte was one of the Third World’s bravest governmental leaders who proved that post-colonial societies can embrace democracy.
Apart from Yesu Persaud, Clive Thomas, Dave Martins and Ron Robinson who have been selected, and those who already have places named after them like Dr. Ptolemy Reid, I can think of Dr. Josh Ramsammy, Dr. David Hinds, Peter D’Aguiar, Father Andrew Morrison, Father Malcolm Rodrigues, Shridath Ramphal, Carl Hooper, Hamilton Green, Janet Jagan, Boysie Ramkarran, Professor Dennis Irvine, Laurie Lewis, Moses Nagamootoo. Dr. Leslie Mootoo. Places to be renamed should include the National Library and certain schools. Why Christ Church Secondary and not Carl Hooper Secondary? More on this in a later column.