Sometimes, when we listen to our representatives speak, we are left to wonder whether they believe their constituents are foolish—or whether they are auditioning for a starring role in a Kabuki Theater.
Case in point: Attorney General and St. John’s City South MP Steadroy “Cutie” Benjamin, who recently rose in Parliament to announce that his government is now considering legislation to amend the oath of allegiance and remove the pledge to the British monarch. He spoke as though this were a novel idea, a sudden awakening, a fresh act of leadership.
It is not.
For nearly a decade, ABCRE has publicly and persistently advocated for this very reform. A private member’s bill was drafted and presented to Parliament—twice. On the second occasion, Mr. Benjamin stood in that same chamber and voted it down. His stated reason? That he needed to “do more research” and “consult colleagues.”
Let us be honest. Even Blind Bartimaeus could see what was really at work. Paddy “The Griot” Simon said it best – “Ana Wha Say … A Who Say”.
This was never about a lack of research. It was about political upmanship – even if it meant making the deliberate choice to preserve colonial symbolism rather than affirm allegiance to the people of Antigua and Barbuda. It was about instructing compliant colleagues to continue swearing fidelity to a former enslaving power instead of to the citizens they are elected to serve.
Now, suddenly, we are to believe the Attorney General has experienced an epiphany.
This is not leadership. It is bad-mindedness .
What makes the performance particularly galling is the pretense that this administration is leading constitutional reform, when in fact it has actively resisted it. The cosplay of progress—reciting the right words years after blocking any meaningful action—reveals a deeper contempt for the public’s intelligence. They are a gaggle of men and a girl who learned to be coggers in their youth and have perfected the art of repetition in adulthood.
An oath is not a technicality. It is a declaration of loyalty. To whom power is owed. To whom duty is bound. And when a government insists on pledging allegiance outward—rather than inward, to its own people—it exposes exactly where its true loyalties lie. For them, their loyalties lie with the murders of Prince Klass, those who forced the whip on our ancestors. It is unpleasant, but it is true.
Antiguans and Barbudans deserve more than a John Kunu performance in The people’s house. We deserve representatives who lead from conviction, not convenience—and who stop mistaking political survival for statesmanship. Thanks to ABCRE for not giving up, for educating us, for speaking truth to power. Thanks to Hon. Trevor Walker for being the giant from Barbuda to bring the bill. Now on to the next.