Dear Editor
If daftness is a virtue, GHK Lall most assuredly would be blessed. As I mulled over this statement, it caused me to wonder whether Lall is somnambulating or fixated on creating his own fool’s paradise. These conflicting thoughts resulted from reading and re-reading Lall’s published advice dated 9/5/2025 to Azruddin Mohamed on reinventing himself.
To many Guyanese, Lall’s garrulous rants are well known, and his scripted advice to Azruddin is not an exception. In the opening paragraph of his article, Lall stated that Azruddin … “must stop seeing himself as the Leader of the Opposition (LOO),” and that, “He must see himself as a man on the run.”
This leaves one wondering whether Lall is prodding Azruddin to delegitimise himself as the opposition leader, and instead view himself as a fugitive? I hardly had time to mull over my interpretation when the answer to the question became clear in Lall’s next few sentences.
Lall wrote, “Part of his reconfiguring of himself is that he [Azruddin] sees himself in the manner that the PPP gov’t does. Less of an OL, more of an outcast now bordering close to an outlaw.”
Should Azruddin submit to Lall’s goading, reconfiguring himself as an outcast bordering on becoming an outlaw, wouldn’t he be acknowledging that he is guilty of his alleged crimes, and hence his flight from justice? Perhaps the answer resides in the closing sentences of Lall’s article. He opines, “Mr Mohamed must adjust to suit. Not believe he is invincible. Or untouchable. Give the ‘yanks’ [Americans] what they want. … He pleas, he bargains; these are what could free him in time for 2030-31.” In doing so, wouldn’t Azruddin be accepting guilt?
The above citations are not the only suggestions Lall offered to Azruddin in transforming himself. As he puts it, “Mr Mohamed has to remake himself. From Opposition Leader to guerrilla fighter operating in an untraditional zone and an unknown dimension in Guyana. He has to live off the land.” In this regard, is Lall encouraging Azruddin to start a guerrilla army to destabilise and overthrow the government? At first glance, this may seem humorous, especially since one would not expect Azruddin to relinquish his wealth and take to the jungles in Guyana, living off the land while leading an untrained revolutionary band against the government. Or does Lall expect Azruddin to dispose of his wealth by financing such a revolutionary group?
Furthermore, would Lall willingly join the guerrilla band of rogue politicians and supporters as a lieutenant in their jungle-warfare fantasies? Before committing to such a decision, Lall would be better informed by reading Mao, Ho Chi Minh, and Che Guevarra on guerrilla warfare.
In the final analysis, as I probed retrospectively into GHK Lall’s written opinion, I am saddened by his inanity, his denial of the Guyanese reality and Azruddin’s role in the unfolding of an envied democratic society, a rapidly developing nation state, one in which social and economic opportunities are widely accessible to all. The internal vibrancy of growth and citizens upliftment are evident in all the village communities, among all races and ethnicities, and while the advances have become the pride of the majority, a minority of discontented and envious, continue to cast aspersions against the government and its leaders who continually strive for national unity and harmony.
Regards,
Narayan Persaud, PhD
Professor Emeritus
Narayan Persaud, PhD
Professor Emeritus
Source
- GHK Lall’s advice to Azruddin is disgraceful in Guyana Chronicle, September 7, 2026