Lindsay Carlton Eseoghene Barrett was a twenty-five-year-old Jamaican when he came from Britain to Nigeria in July 1966 on a few weeks’ visit. Those weeks have stretched to over sixty years, with the playwright, poet, journalist and photographer becoming one of the best-known Nigerians.
He was eighty-five years on September 15, and not unexpectedly, I met some unique Nigerians in his Abuja home, where we turned out to celebrate him. There was Chief Wole Olaoye, with five decades of insightful column writing under his belt. The veteran told those at the table that, with my writing two columns weekly on Nigeria and international affairs in the past three decades, I had become the most prolific columnist in Nigerian history.
Also at the table was Professor Udenta O. Udenta, arts patron and literary guru who, in announcing his intellectual comeback in 2019, launched twenty-one books in a single day.
There was also the lawyer-poet, Ogaga Ifowodo, who was on hand to read excerpts from his latest collection of poems, Why Does God Need a Gun?
Then, the ground literally shook when, in walked 90-year-old Mrs. Eunice Nwoko, wife of Demas Nwoko. He is one of the most famous fine artists, architects and cultural ambassadors in Africa. Sixty years back, when Barrett came to Nigeria, the Nwokos were a major reason he stayed back, as they made his stay comfortable.
Pa Nwoko, now 91, was a member of the Mbari Club of Ibadan, who had within weeks staged two of Barrett’s plays and sucked him into the Nigerian cultural movement, which he found quite alluring.
READ ALSO: Africa’s $100bn Food Import Bill Exposes Costly Agricultural Gap
Makeda Solomon, award-winning Jamaican actress, theatrical producer and poet, was also at hand to read Barrett’s message to the gathering. A child of many worlds, she is still swinging between the Caribbean and Africa. To me, she seems bitten by the Barrett African bug.
Barrett’s pull to Africa was irresistible. His paternal grandparents, Joseph and Ella Barrett, who brought him up, constantly told him their roots are African. So, although they are Jamaicans, they were first Africans.
He also told the story of how his planned few weeks’ visit to Nigeria evolved into a permanent stay: “Within the first two weeks of my stay in Ibadan, two of my plays had been produced, one of them directed over a five-day period by the irrepressible Wole Soyinka.”
The import of the Barrett trajectory was powerfully brought home to me by the participation of Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, at the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
The Assembly had, in the last six decades, featured irresistible international figures like Nelson Mandela, who addressed it in 1994 following the dismantling of apartheid, and controversial leaders like Robert Mugabe.
Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev had, on October 12, 1960, famously placed his shoe on the UNGA table, showing his disgust during a debate on colonialism.
Charismatic Fidel Castro had also, that year, made a record-breaking 4.5-hour speech at UNGA against global inequality and imperialism.
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat had, in 1974, famously told UNGA: “I have come bearing an olive branch and a freedom fighter’s gun: do not let the olive branch fall from my hand.”
President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela had, in 2006, on the platform of UNGA, described then–United States President George W. Bush as “the devil” for backing attacks against Lebanon, Palestine and Iraq, and threatening Venezuela and Iran.
President Muammar Gaddafi, after forty years in power, emerged at the 2009 UNGA to deliver a 75-minute address, far in excess of the 15-minute allocation. In critiquing the veto power of the Security Council, which he accused of merely spreading terror and imposing sanctions, he had torn a copy of the UN Charter into shreds.
But such historic figures are absent in contemporary times, making UNGA look drab. The most outstanding world leader whose speech was expected at the 2026 UNGA was Mottley. She is no controversial figure nor revolutionary. She is simply clear-headed, reflective, truthful, with a dignity that is uncommon among world leaders, especially those being blackmailed or dictated to by powerful countries.
For instance, she is a clear opposite of Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez, who is not only afraid of her shadows but is also scared of being heard. When Rodríguez’s words at the UNGA floated through the airwaves to her country, it erupted in protests.
In contrast, Mottley, Prime Minister since 2018 with a string of three consecutive democratic victories in her country, was seen to be speaking not just for Barbados, the Caribbean and Africa, but the whole of humanity. She is regarded as the international figure capable of holding humanity together and transforming the UN into the world body needed to end or minimize wars, call runaway leaders to order, and turn human attention towards progress and social justice.
Despite her not showing interest in contesting the position of UN Secretary-General, which becomes vacant on December 31, 2026, Mottley, ahead of the 81st UNGA, was projected as the leading candidate. Apart from her noble leadership qualities, it was felt that she has an edge, as no woman has ever occupied that 78-year position. Also, regional rotation favours her.
Most importantly, she has a clear idea of the obstacles facing humanity. At UNGA, she summarized these as obstacles to peace, food, clean water, finance, medicine, education, movement, technology, knowledge and infrastructure. She also identified obstacles such as those between nations, communities and people: “who no longer agree on the same facts or trust the same institutions.”
Cornered last week during UNGA about the international expectations that she should run, Mottley responded: “I’m not sure that the world wants somebody whose tongue is, might be as heavy as mine, and I’m not sure that the world is ready to be able to work in a consensual approach.”
The UN is not her immediate focus, but her country and region, which are facing existential challenges.
She demanded respect for the sovereignty of all countries, a plan to make artificial intelligence work for humanity, a two-state solution in Palestine, and redistribution of world wealth.
Mottley demanded, on behalf of the Caribbean and African regions, reparations for slavery and a permanent seat for Africa in the UN Security Council. Nigeria, at the 2026 UNGA, demanded at least two permanent seats for the continent.
From Lindsay Barrett to Mia Amor Mottley, the Diaspora clearly has a better understanding of the formidable power a Caribbean, Latin American, African and Black North American Diaspora alliance will constitute. Let us begin with the African Diaspora having at least three seats in the African Union Assembly Summit for those regions.
