Take a moment, reflect, and be honest when you try to write down the names of the countries who are true allies of the beautiful small sovereign country of ours. Who are the real friends of St. Lucia?
It is clear as day how well debated the visit of the Nigerian President has been. A cursory glance at social media would furnish you with all the angles and perspective, pros and cons, benefits and or effects, and speculative reasons for the visit.
At the same time President Tinubu was in St. Lucian so was Myles Lewis-Skelly. For those who don’t know, he is a young footballer plying his trade in England for Arsenal Football Club. He too had the red carpet rolled out for him, albeit a much smaller one, and from all accounts he thoroughly enjoyed it. While it is not easily measured, there are benefits attached to his visit. Think now of the visit of the leader of the most populus African nation. Quite apart from just thinking, there has been a quick attempt to harvest what has been described as “low hanging fruit” between St. Lucia and Nigeria, key among them, visa free access to Nigeria for St. Lucian officials and the opportunity for St. Lucian students to further their education via scholarships in the next academic year.
What then is the issue? One social media contributor asked why did both airports have to close for a few hours to facilitate the President’s arrival? Another was concerned about the traffic while another speculated about the actual cost to the country. One even suggested that most African countries were not friends of the United States {Donald Trump} and so aligning with like countries would have a negative spotlight directed at St. Lucia. The pushback from quite a few individuals suggests that this is all very political, a red and yellow affair.
In an interview on June 21st, 1990, Nelson Mandela was asked about his supposed admiration for Fidel Castro of Cuba and Maummar Gaddafi of Libya. The interviewer seemingly attempted to paint Mandela into a corner regarding his affiliations. Mandela’s response – “one of the mistakes which some political analysts make is to think that their enemies should be our enemies.” He went on to suggest that South Africa’s friends are those who help when help is needed.
So who are fair Helen’s friends if not those who help her, and engage her and those of like mind. It should never be forgotten, however, that altruism and charity are one side of the coin. The other side is egoism.