They were archrivals in life, but now the Andrew Holness Administration has decided to unite them in death on a $2,000 banknote, soon to be unleashed on a mostly sceptical and, in some cases, astounded Jamaican public.

Yes, Michael Norman Manley and Edward Phillip George Seaga will be sharing the same space as a symbol of national unity.

In his 2022 budget presentation, Minister of Finance and the Public Service Dr Nigel Clarke announced that the two would be featured on the $2,000 banknote and said that the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Government believed that Jamaica’s 60th year of Independence was the appropriate time for this “monetary illustration” to help engender unity, thereby superseding narrow partisan considerations.

For younger Jamaicans, this bold move may not stir up any negative emotions or any meaningful reactions as many of them have no time for politics, which they perceive as a waste of time. And perhaps rightly so. But, for older Jamaicans, there will be many mixed feelings, some bordering on outright anger and disgust, while others may even see it as mere politicking or worse, a sick joke.

Despite the fact that on the surface the country’s partisan rivalry has somewhat dissipated, in that there have not been many violent, physical clashes in recent times, to put it bluntly, most Labourites do not like Comrades and vice versa.

Indeed, I was very much taken aback when I saw a post on Facebook by a well-known Jamaica Labour Party supporter with respect to the 25th anniversary of the death of Michael Manley on March 6, 2022, saying, in essence, that it would’ve been better if he had not been born. Similar hateful sentiments have been hurled at Edward Seaga, even at the time of his death, referring to him as evil, wicked, and diabolical.

It is against this background that Jamaicans are being asked to rid themselves of such putrid partisan protestations and rise above the fray.

In the meantime, let us not fool ourselves, from “Manlie” to “Ciaga”, nothing was held back in vilifying these two Jamaican patriots who, in their own way, sought to make Jamaica a better place.

Seaga was an unrepentant capitalist, while Manley was an avowed democratic socialist (some went as far as to say he was a closet Communist). But, in the overall scheme of things, Seaga did exhibit some socialist tendencies, which were reflected in some of his social development initiatives, while Manley, especially when he returned to power in 1989, openly embraced many aspects of the capitalist approach to governance, including abandoning the Kareeba, symbolic of his socialist bent, and donning the traditional jacket and tie ensemble.

Some even said he had returned to his upper-class roots, after descending into the trenches to rub shoulders with the peasantry, when he married Glynne Manley. He was married five times, one of which was the much-celebrated tying of the knot with the Afrocentric Beverley Manley.

Seaga, on the other hand, affectionately known to many of his followers, especially those in his West Kingston constituency, as Maas Eddie or Papa Eddie, had spent a great deal of time, as part of his cultural studies, with pocomania groups, to the extent that some of his detractors described him as an obeahman. However, even those in academia will acknowledge the fact that he did some meaningful work during his involvement with Jamaican folk groups, which came to the fore in terms of his indelible contribution to the nation’s cultural development.

So, all in all, notwithstanding their ideological differences, it can be said, without any hesitation, that both men loved their country and gave their all towards its overall development.

Unfortunately, part of the People’s National Party’s (PNP) electioneering strategy was to demonise Seaga and use the fact that he was not born in Jamaica (My Leader Born Ya) to telling effect, thus limiting his ability to win successive elections after his historic victory in 1980.

Seaga, like Manley, had many slips of the tongue, perhaps the most unfortunate was in 1997 when he tarred and feathered his then rival at the polls P J Patterson, who, at the time, was dubbed the Fresh Prince and described as “young, gifted, and black”, by likening him to a “black scandal bag”.

In the meantime, Manley was to forever pay the price for his “five flights a day to Miami” speech in Sam Sharpe Square, which subsequently led to a mass exodus of particularly middle- and upper middle-class Jamaicans to foreign shores, taking with them their wealth and expertise. Some say Jamaica is yet to recover fully from that unfortunate utterance.

In terms of political rivalry, Seaga’s “blood for blood” speech and the Rema incident have been used by PNP followers as testament to what they insist was his violent tendencies, while the Manley era was tarnished by the Green Bay massacre and his “companeros of the garrison” remarks, which depicted him as being palsy-walsy with known criminal dons of the day.

In the final analysis, when all is said and done, it may well be a case of the pot calling the kettle black (pardon the pun) and, in this vein, what still stands out was that peace concert where Bob Marley persuaded both men to hold hands as a symbol of unity or, as Manley would say, “peace and love”. To my own thinking, this imagery would have been a better one to use on the $2,000 banknote as it would most certainly generate less political vitriol.

Another symbolic image that stands out in my mind was when Seaga saluted Manley’s casket as it was being lowered in the grave at National Heroes’ Park.

No doubt, many will argue that an image of both Hugh Shearer and Michael Manley on that controversial note would be more acceptable to partisan hacks as it is no secret that both men were very good friends despite their coming from different and sometimes warring camps.

Many angry Jamaicans are blaming Dr Nigel Clarke for using this “monetary confusion” as a distraction rather than a genuine attempt at national reunification. And, as some cynics have argued, what’s the sense in spending millions of dollars to print these new notes that are not worth the paper on which they are printed, given the continuing devaluation of the Jamaican dollar. Wonder what Jack Mandora would say?

Congrats, Observer

I must congratulate the Jamaica Observer team on the occasion of its 29th anniversary. Needless to say, I am more than humbled and honoured to have been part of this experience as a columnist that has been contributing to this esteemed newspaper since its inception. Kudos to all!

Lloyd B Smith has been involved full-time in Jamaican media for the past 45 years. He has also served as a Member of Parliament and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives. He hails from western Jamaica where he is popularly known as the Governor. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or lbsmith4@gmail.com.