Why doesn’t Trinidad and Tobago have official arrangements regarding Presidential and Prime Ministerial collections which document the papers, speeches, activities, and memorabilia of the nation’s leaders?
If we are going to find the historical context for our leadership each President or Prime Minister should have a formal set of precedents to inform their own administration or tenure. Academic researchers and the general public should also have the opportunity to peruse the records and mementos of the office holders.
It is not as lofty a process as it would seem because we need to encourage interest in every aspect of national development.
I noted the comments of the President Her Excellency Paula-Mae Weekes during her inaugural address on March 19 this year. She said “Well before the date of assumption of any new position the candidate had better be clear about the job description… with that in mind, I first looked at the Constitution and while it outlined certain duties and functions of president, the office holder’s role was not defined. Then aided by memory, anecdote and available material I analysed the leadership and decision-making styles of my predecessors in office. This unscientific research led me to the conclusion that it falls to each President to define within prescribed limits his or in this case her own role”.
The words “unscientific research” are worrying because there is really little that informs incoming presidents about their predecessors.
On the other hand there is the Eric Williams Memorial Collection comprising material that Mrs Erica Williams-Connell loaned to the University of the West Indies. The collection is going to be relocated to the former Public Library at Knox Street, Port-of-Spain where it will be renamed the Eric Williams Memorial Library.
I understand the site may also house information applicable to other state and government leaders. If that is so it will be welcome because we need documentation for the five PMs after Eric Williams as well the first five Presidents. However, I do not know under whose auspices the collection may fall.
The Nehru Memorial Museum & Library, named for Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister, was established in 1964, under the Ministry of Culture, in New Delhi. It features the life and times of Nehru and his prominent political contemporaries. It also houses most of Mahatma Gandhi’s writings.
In the USA Presidential records used to remain among the possessions of past incumbents until 1939 when Franklin D Roosevelt passed over his personal and presidential records to the federal government.
The Presidential Libraries Act became law in 1955, to formalise this project.
Such collections in the USA are now started by enterprising private persons or institutions.
Olusegun Obasanjo, former Nigerian President, planned the Obasanjo Presidential Library following the example of the American presidential libraries. He financed it and had it formally established in 2005 as the first of its kind in Africa.
There are two Prime Ministerial memorial libraries in the United Kingdom. The first was the Gladstone Library set up by William Ewart Gladstone, the 19th Century British Prime Minister. The Margaret Thatcher Library, established in 2013, was based on the US Presidential Libraries. Nonetheless there are separate records at the UK Prime Minister’s office.
I know the personnel at the National Archives have done a considerable amount of work collecting material about our leaders so at least a foundation has already been established.
Print and electronic media have done great service to the nation by featuring the careers of former Presidents and Prime Ministers. Those corporate entities who sponsored ads in the media may wish to fund collections and have them lodged at the UWI, the National Archives or any other facility.
However, the effort would be more worthwhile if there are guidelines that facilitate the acquisition of any and all the records of Presidents and Prime Ministers to make sure that they are available for researchers.
Aiyegoro Ome
