Arthur LokJack correct in his statement

THE EDITOR: I refer to an article by Ren?e Olivel in Newsday 31/7/05 page 4 entitled “UWI Coordinator offended by claims Afro-trinis not enterprise-minded.” It was reported that Arthur LokJack, a successful businessman, acting as a “Principles of Fairness Moderator,” in his summation following an audience discussion, said that “Young Afro-Trinidadians were content to be followers and not leaders and needed to get to the level of equity. He added that young Indo-Trinidadians, on the contrary were already into “Transactional Business” because of growing up in a business environment. A young (Afro-Trinidadian) man came to me saying that he was told by his parents to get a good public service job. So it is a matter of the environment.

The difference with the young Indo-Trinidadian is that he would go around and do what he has to do even mobilising his family to raise money. He also said that education was the biggest asset our nation can give to young people and because an imbalance existed between “Indo” and “Afro-Trinidadians, a large part of the African Community was locked out of the economic pie.” An emotional Dr Olabisi Kuboni Campus coordinator of the UWI distance learning Education Centre, took offence at claims made by Arthur LokJack that “Afro-Trinidadians were merely satisfied with a “Good Public Service Job” and were not enterprise-minded.”

She added “I disagree with Mr LokJack. I would not be standing here if it was not for the merging together of a very sound background of generations of my family, of seeing about your own business. It is because of the efforts of my grandparents as well as my mother who is a teacher.” Dr Kuboni (holding a good public or quasi-public service job as campus coordinator of the UWI distant learning education centre) has missed the point of Mr LokJack’s argument. By the proverbial mile. Mr LokJack, in his interfacing with other successful businessmen, sees, Chinese faces, Indian faces, Syrian-Lebanese faces, French-creole faces (to name a few) but very few Afro-Trini faces. Afro-Trini faces appear in managerial positions in businesses owned by the other races.

As a person of mixed race (African) I can say that in my knowledge and experience too many Afro-Trini boys and girls are being brought up and trained to be followers and not leaders. Speaking within the context of TT only, I will say Afro-Trinis are bright, intelligent, and very talented but too many of us like “Gulliver” are tied down and made captive by tiny, stupid ideas about ourselves and our abilities. Arthur LokJack is damn right and on the button. Let us awake from our self-imposed state of denial and reach out and earn our share of the economic pie that is TT.

JACK LEARMOND-CRIQUI
Diego Martin