It appears that a certain newspaper has picked up the vibe about the sudden and near complete disappearance of ex President Jagdeo from the news since early December and has decided to do something about it….Except that in its eagerness to correct the situation it certainly appears that they have gone about it in the wrong way. It published a front page story about Conservation International talking up the former ‘boss man’s’ role as a “forest champion.” No surprises there, mind you. This particular newspaper has made no secret about the fact that in or out of office it’s batting for BJ.
There is of course nothing wrong with making mention of the kudos doled out to Mr. Jagdeo by CI except of course that it appeared a trifle overdone. Front page blurb just below the main headline and a turn to another half a page of things that have been said about the man several times before. Mind you it appears that they completely forgot to run an ex-president caption of a front page photograph of a suitably regal-looking Mr. Jagdeo. They did remember to caption the photograph on the turn but shouldn’t it have been retired President Jagdeo – that, after all, would not have been inappropriate since the man is receiving a pension – rather than former President Jagdeo.
Of course no one can possibly quarrel with those media houses that opt to keep Mr. Jagdeo in the news. Who says an ex president can’t be newsworthy? Except of course that there’s news and there’s news. Let’s have Mr. Jagdeo doing more newsworthy things. After all it’s not as though a few weeks off the park would cause him to be out of practice. Let’s make him a Goodwill Ambassador! That way he can travel across the region spreading one of his favorite messages……regional food security. Or perhaps we can arrange for him to talk to university students about LCDS or to world-renowned environmental bodies about global warming. Let’s arrange for world-renowned environmental bodies to invite him to deliver high-priced lectures to students of the environment? There’s good money in those lectures these days. Or we can set up a Bharrat Jagdeo Foundation for the Protection of Guyana’s biodiversity! That way he is bound to generate sufficient worthwhile news for him to remain in the headlines. Or if all else fails we can let the former President loose on the government’s political opponents so that he can cuss them back from whence they came.
But whatever else we do let’s not get used to the idea of screaming banner headlines every time the man gets a pat on the back. It’s beneath him.