Author Information
Dr Cheddi Jagan -The Legend
Born in Port Mourant on a sugar plantation
He daily witnessed Guyana's exploitation
He saw hardship and knew there was only one cure
And Cheddi promised to fight oppression for sure
He fought against the plantation owners
Championing the cause of the sugar-workers
The gov't. of the day could not understand
For he was a force, a tiger in their hand
In those days Imperialism was in
And Social Social/Marxism was a sin
You bow to Uncle Sam and dance to his tune
Or you'd pass away like the last full moon
The people came last and politics came first
But this jingoism didn’t quench his thirst
He stood up and was counted though he was alone
In Moscow, his friends had problems of their own
Guyanese celebrated raising the Indian jhanda
As he watched, admired and even visited India
When in 1947 India became independent
To Nehru and Gandhi good wishes he sent
Then later Ghana got independence too
And all Guyanese dressed in every hue
Joined with their brothers of Ghana
And celebrated with Kwame Nkrumah
This did not deter him, he stuck to his belief
And was forced to be the opposition to a thief
As bullets replaced ballots in every succession
As Guyana was repeatedly raped in every election
All his pleas fell on deaf ears
Especially to the political seers
He went to the United Nation and lamented
But the US backed body was undaunted
The British changed first past the post
To prevent the PPP from getting the most
They did this with the sole devious intention
By switching to proportional representation
The result was no party got a majority
The British way of getting rid of the PPP
Burnham and D’Aguiar formed a coalition
Making way for Burnham’s Guyanization
The registration by the Shoup Company
Made utter sheer mockery of democracy
Padded with the dead, hanged, even the fictitious
Which the same British press called "ridiculous"
In England the press had a field day
When Granada TV did their expose`
Airing '”The Trails of the Vanishing Voter”
And "The Making of a Prime Minister"
The whole West knew of that widespread scam
But they prefer to put their money on Burnham
The Indians overseas were denied their right
The wholesale rigging was too much to fight
Rubber bands played a big roll in elections
They were used in the PNC stronghold sections
To wrap bundles of votes i.e. the PNC’s share
And ballot boxes were tampered without fear
Desmond Hoyt, the architect on the commission
He became President with Burnham's extinction
Since 1992 there was never a fair and free election
Only fear, fraud, disgust and wholesale corruption
That was the foundation of the PNC Gov’t. abuse
What do you expect such garbage would produce?
For 28 years they ruled with an iron fist
And did every bleddy thing wrong on the list
Cheddi Jagan did all he humanly could
But it was if he was preaching to wood
They rebuked him and after 28 years
The good doctor still showed he cares
Like the others who crossed the floor in stealth
He could have partook in the country's wealth
Call it quits and left like the others
But he stuck to his guns and his brothers
But behind every great man
There is always a good woman
And we can't and should never forget
His strong and faithful wife Janet
Like Nehru and Gandhi of India
He also had big dreams for Guyana
But his reign was aborted by a conspiracy of silence
Though like Rev. King he too preached non-violence
To clean up the corruption and debt is a huge task
To do it overnight in a few years we can never ask
Wholesale nepotism and corruption ’PNC made’
To wipe off the stench it would take a decade
But there is a cool new breeze blowing
With many changes for better forthcoming
The winds of change are here at last
But we should never forget the past
We have to put our shoulders to the wheel
We have to work like one people with one keel
Let no "divide and rule" come between us again
Strive for real independence, let sanity reign
Jagan never succumbed or relent
Even with his life almost spent
He fought his foes with his bare hands
And never groveled to their demands
He's no ordinary man, he dreamt in his own way
Like the Rev.Martin Luther King, he hoped one day
The people of Guyana would rise up peacefully
Become one people, one nation, with one destiny.
