The Clifton Review

The Clifton Review is a bi-weekly column that examines the question of the Clifton project along with the evolution of the war between two billionaires, the links to unsavory characters, the use of the courts for personal agendas, the involvement of a political party, and the attacks on the Government of The Bahamas.

We covered the start of this war with articles describing the battle over easement rights, the mysterious burning of a home, the blocks to rebuilding, and countless questionable court filings. This series of articles asks the needed questions and presents the arguments in full.

By P.J. Malone

There has been a disturbing series of events taking place in The Commonwealth of The Bahamas. It is difficult to comprehend that this is what we’ve come to. The fathers of our nation are no doubt turning over in their proverbial graves.

Some are calling it a political witch-hunt; some are calling it an abuse of power. We call it tyranny!

What happened to the idea of conducting proper investigations before hauling individuals in and treating them as criminals? These attacks on former Progressive Liberal Party Ministers and Senators are indecent and tyrannical.

This is not what the fathers of our nation were fighting for when they marched for equal rights. This is not what they stood up for when they challenged injustice in the House of Assembly. This is not what the fathers of our nation were envisioning when they fought for independence.

Is this what we’ve devolved into? Treating fellow human beings like they have no right to decency or respect? Treating fellow Bahamians like enemies of the state without cause? Treating fellow statesmen like animals that are in need of corralling?

Mr. Prime Minister. Is tyranny the road you want to head down? Is this the precedent you want to set in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas? Obviously you think it is right to do. What if it was your son being treated this way? Would you still think it is right to do?

Once you head down this road, there is no turning back.

Close your eyes and imagine for a moment this scenario: It’s an election year; all the rallies for this particular political party are overflowing. The Bahamian people are attending these rallies in such masses as have not been seen before in Bahamian politics.

As you walk into the park on election eve to witness this last election event, one look at the faces in the crowd tells you everything you need to know. To your right, there is a man with nostrils flaring and sweating profusely, as he throws his fists into the air.

To your left, another contorts his face into all manner of expressions of disgust as his arms flail about wildly. Another still with eyes bulging out of his head and legs widely planted is baring his teeth. A woman nearby with her chest thrust out and arms akimbo is shouting at the top of her lungs.

Everywhere you look, you can see it. The Bahamian people are angry. They are shouting! They are jeering! They are jumping up and down as the speaker on the stage whips them into a frenzy.

“Lock him up!” The people shout, ten times, 20 times, 50 times and all night long. ‘What is the cause of such anger?’ You wonder.

The next day, the election results flow in. The people have spoken.

It is 2022, and it is you! It is you Mr. Prime Minister out in the cold with the people demanding your blood.

Maybe you didn’t do anything wrong in the previous 5 years. Maybe it’s just a matter of perception. Maybe it’s the other side misleading the public on your time in office and the deeds of your Cabinet. Yet, the public demands an accounting of your perceived wrong actions.

Therefore, you are dragged before the courts handcuffed and shackled and made to answer for the perceived wrongs you committed—guilty until proven innocent!

And no matter what you do to prove your innocence, there will always be those who see you as guilty, who castigate you, who shun you because you have been labeled as such.

Well, what goes around comes around. Therefore, do on to others as you would have them do on to you.

Get your people under control Mr. Prime Minister. Stop the tyranny. Stop the unjust persecutions and restore decency within The Commonwealth of The Bahamas!

You are now the leader of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. Now lead!