BEFORE HE WAS stoned to death by a political mob in Stony Hill Square on August 17, 1983, the poet Mikey Smith, only 29 years old, had written a poem which was to become the chant of the Dub generation… Mi seh, mi cyaan believe it. Mikey used the chant to underscore incredulity at the decay in society, a decline which he never imagined he would live to see. Years later, we chant the same chant. We cannot believe what we’re now experiencing.

Incidentally, if you Google to find the poem, you may be amused to see the phrase scrupulously translated over and over and over as “I can’t believe it”. Somehow, it loses something in the translation. The same cannot be said for the shocker delivered in our Parliament Tuesday afternoon when no less a personage than the Hon Prime Minister bowled a ball which tore the midstump clear out of the ground, leaving spectators dumbfounded. Mixed metaphors aside, there was no mistaking the amazed reaction to the highly unexpected revelation that the PM had been keeping a secret from the nation, for reasons known only to himself.

It all had to do with the prolonged speculation and confusion about who engaged the US law firm of Manatt, Phelps and Phillips (hereafter to be designated M, P and P) to intercede as lobbyists in the long-running serial of the stalled extradition of one D Coke Esquire, address unknown. On Tuesday afternoon the PM admitted to Parliament that it was HE, in his capacity as head of the ruling Jamaica Labour Party, who had given the order for the law firm to be engaged.

This comes months, may we remind ourselves, after the quest had begun to determine exactly who had contacted the firm and even paid over a sum in US dollars for services rendered. As the plot thickened to the consistency of cold cornmeal porridge, there was no ends of carry-go, bring-come, charges and counter-charges with one H Brady Esquire, attorney at law, taking a lot of the flak for having been the conduit to M, P and P.

The PM even authorised the Gen Sec of his Jamaica Labour Party to carry out investigations and report back to Parliament. M, P and P had finally become the concern, not of the legislative arm but the political foot as well. Mr Samuda duly investigated and faithfully reported back, assuring us it was indeed a party matter. Faithful supporters had even dug deep into their pockets for US bucks to pay M, P and P. Story done? Not really. The plot continued congealing. The porridge was beginning to burn.

In the House on Tuesday, the PM was confronted yet again by the persistent Dr Phillips, who had not ceased asking question after question after question as to who did what with M, P and P. The Prime Minister, invigorated and pumped after a successful vacation (did he really spend time in the bird bushes of Paraguay as has been said?), proceeded to present a statement “on the extradition of Christopher Coke and the engagement of the law firm Manatt, Phelps and Phillips”. It was in that statement the Prime Minister went over the sequence of events from A to B and then bowled the ball, which we could call C if we wished.

LO AND BEHOLD, it was he and no other, who had “sanctioned the initiative”. In other words, it was the Prime Minister who had given the go-ahead to the JLP to engage the services of M, P and P. That this secret had been kept from the public for months, while the storm of speculation raged, did not seem to bother the PM. In fact, he seemed confident that he had caught out Dr Phillips and his crew who were carrying on about the government hiring M, P and P. It was time to bring the story to bump – and so he did.

The Opposition erupted. The Speaker called for order. The PM took shelter behind the Standing Orders. Out in the streets, you could hear a pin drop, followed by a roar of disbelief like when the batsman you were counting on to save the day, got run out for a duck. Even the most faithful followers were dumbstruck. The most popular response was the W-word – Why? Why is it only now, after the months of speculation and haul and pull-up, why is it only now, that the PM is admitting that it was he all along, who had given the order for the US law firm to come on board. Why did he think it important to conceal the nature of his involvement? Then there was what? What did he hope to gain?

Ahh, but then you see, it wasn’t the head of the Government of Jamaica who gave the order. It was the head of the Jamaica Labour Party, PM wearing two hats, yuh nuh. To tamper with a Shaggyian defence: “It wasn’t this me. It was the other me.” Get it? I didn’t think you would. Take comfort, you are not alone.

PERSONS UNTUTORED and unlettered in the subtleties of matters like these have persisted in asking, “But if Mr G the Prime Minister, knew the answer to the question which everyone had been asking, why couldn’t Mr G, the JLP Leader, give them the facts?” Still not clear? All right, put it another way, let’s try again, repeat after me…

We were asking the Prime Minister of Jamaica, not the Leader of the Jamaica Labour Party for an answer which the Prime Minister of Jamaica didn’t have, but if you had asked him as the Leader of the JLP, he could’ve helped you. But he couldn’t give that answer in the House of Parliament because Standing Orders say you can’t go there with that.

Now, what is not clear? If the questions had been asked while the PM was sitting, not standing, then we might have solved the mystery. But, you must realise by now, they don’t have “sitting orders”. So now that we know where we stand, what next?

Cries of “Resign” have broken out, especially among young political activists. However, as they say in the treasury of our heritage, “Young bud nuh know storm.” Resign is not a first option in our parliamentary culture. It is in the same category as speculation on when one D Coke Esquire will be located. From the lips of some people comes the lament. So, let’s get on with speculating where this is going now, apart from the obvious lament, borrowed from other sources – “Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive.”

PS: So the British thought they knew about political mix-up, just because they have hung Parliament and coalition which nobody believes will work? If they really want to know about mix-up and blenda, we’re quite willing to sell them the formula. Note – we said SELL… We’re not giving away anything these days.

gloudonb@yahoo.com