WHY NO INTERVIEW WITH PANDAY?

Any interviews with the old Bas would have produced most if not all of the ingredients for excellent newspaper articles. Here was a national figure, Panday, who, only a mere few weeks ago, was said to have been unable to deliver, personally, what in essence was a stepping down address to Party faithful of the Opposition United National Congress, from which he had resigned as Chairman following on a traumatic Court case in which he had been found guilty. The reason advanced for his not making the address was that Panday, former Leader of the Opposition in the House of Representatives, was acting on medical advice. There were many at the UNC political meeting who empathised with Panday.

Despite the compelling reasons for his non-appearance that night, however, Panday appeared to have made a remarkable comeback, health wise, which enabled him to fly out to Germany with some of the United National Congress’ hierarchy to see a Trinidad and Tobago national football team appear for the first time in the World Cup.

Twice before, first for the 1974 World Cup and 16 years later, for the 1990 event, the country had been on the edge of an historic appearance only to be denied the honour.

Panday’s decision to attend what for many would be an emotionally charged first round, at least, for those making the journey to see the Trinidad and Tobago Soca Warriors play, was instructive. For whether it was this country playing its opeing game in the World Cup against Sweden, for long one of the world’s top football teams, and holding the Norsemen to a thrilling draw, or against England or Paraguay, it must have been stressful, not only for Panday, although particularly so if only because of his heart condition, but for all Trinbagonians watching on in the stadium. Perhaps. I should add, even at television sets in many a country. Yet no one appears to have sought and gained an interview with the Silver Fox. Why were there no in depth interviews with Basdeo Panday immediately it was known he was leaving for Germany; when Trinidad and Tobago appeared in the first round, or following on the country’s failure to advance to the second round?

Interested journalists need not necessarily have been in Germany to have interviewed Panday during the time the Soca Warriors were there, but could have attempted to conduct any interviews with him via overseas calls made from their newsrooms. And they need not have been sports reporters.

Could you imagine a John Grimes, a Carl Yip Young, a Rafeek Khan, a David J Nelson or a Rodney Kassie, all celebrated newsmen of an earlier generation not seeking out an opportunity to interview the former Political Leader of the UNC and former Leader of the Opposition and former Prime Minister on his attending the World Cup, what with his [Panday] having had major heart surgery? I can imagine the late, lamented Yip Young with his satirical wit; Rafeeq Khan with his rapid fire questions or the legendary Johnny Grimes with his unquestioned skill at eliciting information interviewing Panday.Would Rodney Kassie with his imaginative flair, or Chandra Permanand with his painstaking questions, or the erudite David J. Nelson, or David Prescod or Randolph Mauge or Evans Greene have allowed that precious moment in history to have slipped by underutilised and unreported.

Basdeo Panday is not your average citizen. He is a man who has impacted on the country’s political landscape for some 40 years, moving from a humbling loss of deposit situation as a Workers and Farmers Party candidate in the 1966 General Election to the distinction of being a two-term Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. Additionally, recent events et al, Basdeo Panday is good copy. Why, then, at least to my knowledge, have there been no reports, of either interviews with Basdeo Panday, or of attempts to interview him. Did they (the newsmen) seek him here (in Trinidad and Tobago) or there (in Germany) and came up interview-less? But even that would have been news.

Surely, any enterprising journalists would have been able to find out the name of the hotel in Germany at which the former Prime Minister stayed during the Soca Warriors all too brief quest for glory for their country. The nation would have appreciated being advised as to how Basdeo Panday was coping and had coped with all of the attendant stress of the Trinbagonian Soca Warriors appearances on the playing fields of Deutscheland! In addition, was he impressed by their strategies, by their play and what, for him, were the highlights?

The question arises, as it must, and should have been pursued with vigour and skill, how did Panday, who was referred to as not physically up to the rigours of addressing a political meeting, handle clearly stressful World Cup matches? Had the demands on his physical energy, of watching the appearances of the Soca Warriors, unduly affected him or at all? Journalists owe it to the nation to gain interviews with the former Prime Minister. Failure would be unacceptable.