Boris Johnson’s leadership in taking Britain from the European Union is a major historical evet in the third decade of the 21st century.
But my mind goes back to 1962, when Jamaica with Norman Manley and Sir Alexander Bustamante as Premier and Opposition Leader respectively campaigned against Jamaica staying in the then West Indies Federation which was inaugurated by the late Princess Margaret, the Queen’s sister, in April 1958.
Bustamante who had campaigned against remaining in the Federation, won the elections, and so decidedly, Jamaica opted out of the Federation. Dr. Eric Williams, then premier in 1962, told his PNM Convention, that “one from ten leaves 0”. Subsequently, Dr. Williams went to Marlborough House in May 1962, and together with Dr. Rudranath Capildeo, leader of the Opposition, agreed for Trinidad and Tobago to become an Independent state, August 31,1962.
Prime Minister Johnson has successfully moved Britain out of the European Union (EU) on Friday January 31, thus returning the UK to full sovereignty.
Is this act of individualism a sign of the eventual break-up of the EU? There are rumours of other members of the EU harbouring withdrawal from the EU. Removing the UK from the EU has been a long drawn challenge for the British people that started in June 2016 with then Prime Minister David Cameron.
The question is: Is the world moving back to a season of nation state? And, would Britain, at some point in the future, opt to go back to the EU, if by then it still exists?
World leaders want to stamp their names in the history books, maybe for egoistical reasons. Our leaders must think and think seriously before taking up any serious decisions.
Is Britain’s exit from the EU, a sign of the break-up of the EU? Is this precedent going to be emulated by similar bodies like the OAS and CARICOM? As for CARICOM, it appears that they don’t have a clue about what is taking place in international politics and international relation. It seems to me that individual governments and the network of multilateral agencies cannot stop fighting among themselves, more so to take their respective people to a higher level of leadership, economic, political and cultural platforms.
Mr. Editor, I shudder to think about the state of the world before the end of this century. I surmise that the way and attitude of world leaders are not showing a sense of great leadership or mature thinking as should be the case.
Religious, cultural and communal groups must join in the fray to create a better and more peaceful world as the United Nations seems be limping for survival. Let’s take back the world which is an integral part of the cosmos.