In an ideal world there would be no animus over the naming of anything or place after an outstanding leader. But we are not living in an ideal world.

Moreover, our tribalism runs through the body politic like a cancer with no hope of remission. Thus we find ourself, yet again, writhing in agony, this time about the proposed naming of the north-south highway after former Prime Minister Edward Seaga.

If we had our way, we would probably not name that highway after Mr Seaga, especially while it legally belongs to the Chinese under the 50-year deal that gave us the roadway. That statement, however, has nothing to do with whether he is deserving of it or not.

It is noteworthy that the Nelson Mandela Highway linking St Catherine and Kingston and the Mandela Park in Half-Way-Tree, St Andrew, were not so named because Mr Mandela had anything to do with their creation. It was our nation’s way of honouring the great man.

Mr Seaga’s contribution to the development and shaping of our emerging nation is, as the late Prime Minister Michael Manley used to say, impatient of debate. We are well past the stage of entertaining any doubts about this.

We say, however, that we might not have named that highway after Mr Seaga because it was never going to be rocket science that the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) would feel it had some entitlement, real or imagined, to that honour.

We in this space find it somewhat distasteful to have a raging debate, much of it nasty, about whether a leader who has served with distinction should be honoured in the way Mr Seaga is proposed to be, especially since he is still alive and with us.

Perhaps the fault lies in the explanation given for choosing to name the highway after Mr Seaga. Prime Minister Andrew Holness explained: “It is with good reason why it was selected. He was responsible for the development of downtown Kingston. He was also integral, initiated the development and expansion of Ocho Rios as a tourism destination. The North-South highway creates that link and so it is only fitting…”

That is a bit of a stretch since the highway is not a direct link between downtown Kingston and Ocho Rios, running as it is from Mammee Bay, St Ann, on the north to Caymanas, St Catherine, on the south.

But, as we said earlier, whether Mr Seaga had anything to do with the roadway’s creation or not, is neither here nor there. If we must honour our leaders, let us strive always to find consensus, difficult as it is.

Of course, if it is desireable to link them to direct action in creating a monument in their honour, no one could quarrel about renaming Tivoli Gardens the Edward Seaga Gardens or Ocean Boulevard in downtown Kingston as the Edward Seaga Boulevard.

Tivoli itself bears the mark of the unmistakeable genius of Edward Seaga. Rising from the ashes of the infamous Back-O-Wall, it became the subject of study by social planners. Prime ministers and heads of state visited Tivoli to see the model for themselves and to return home to copy it in their countries.

The community, now stigmatised as a feared inner-city enclave, could be spectacularly reborn as the Edward Seaga Gardens.