Hubert Hughes: Ace of Spades or  Jack of Asses

It is astonishing to believe that in this day and age we have people still fighting colonialism. Like something out of a 60’s novel, here enters Anguilla’s   the Chief Minister Hubert Hughes and his associates. Mr. Hughes’ apparent obsession with the British dates back to 1967 when, Anguilla then part of a Tri-State colony of Britain, was attempting to break away and become a separate entity. Mr. Hughes, then a crony of Colonel R.E. Bradshaw, the brutal dictator of the St. Kitts, wanted Anguilla to remain in the Union. So, when Britain gave the go ahead and granted Anguilla’s leaders their wish to secede, it incensed him, and of course Col. Bradshaw, thus we have the prelude to one of the great feuds in the twentieth century.

For the past forty plus years, Hughes has been a part of the Anguillian political arena. He has enjoyed two stints as its Chief Minister, part of the ruling Government and has been the leader of the opposition. That he has been problematic would be the greatest understatement of the century.During all of the unrest and turmoil in Anguillian politics, Mr. Hughes has been a constant. Mr. Hughes has always been anti everything, even to programs he pledged to support. Over the course of his political career, he has managed to disrupt the normal functioning of Government both as the opposition member and as a member of Government. His disruption has cost Anguilla  and its economy dearly in terms of finance and development.  When he is part of the opposition, he is the self proclaimed advocate for good governance, however, when  he is part of the ruling Government, he is suspected and accused of the same corrupt practices. If you can recall, just recently he was embroiled in a dispute with Government over payments for a telephone bill that was some ten years old. Whether or not he was entitled to repayment is debatable, however, his request was at a time when the Island was going through its worst financial crisis and here he was seeking over $30 grand.. There was no offer of compromise or even sympathy for the Island's state of affairs. As an opposition member, he has even sided with Government to give retired ministers vehicles as a reward for their services, totally ludicrous.Is this a person who should be leading our Island?

He has traveled back and forth to Britain on several occasions to perform various Governmental functions where his   unprovoked attacks on the British representatives are the stuff of legend. His disregard for normal protocols   and lack of professional decorum has astonished and baffled the British that has cast serious doubts on his competency.  He makes unreasonable requests and demands that the British are obligated to honor them because of their Overseas Territory status. However, when the British asks for documents to substantiate his requests, he accuses them of bias and neglect.  Consequently, he receives no aid and returns home empty handed. At home, his summation of his visit to Britain is usually one of condemnation advises the Anguillian people that Britain refused to give the aid he sought.

 At times, one is lead to believe that he is nothing more than a raging lunatic. However, he does possess the uncanny ability to stir up the emotions of the Anguillian people with talk of victimization and whip their rebellious spirit into frenzy. Anguillians who are by nature a loving and docile group can become incensed if they feel that their freedom is threatened in any manner. They will strongly resist any and all efforts of foreign domination by anyone, a fact that is well known by Mr. Hughes.  Once agitated, Anguillians become easy subjects for Hughes’ manipulations out of fear of returning to a Bradshaw type era and out of their need to be independent. The irony of it all is that there is no such impending doom looming on the horizon. Mr. Hughes is acutely aware of this but uses this as a propaganda tool to fool gullible Anguillians into believing it and get their support.  It’s a tactic that has worked for him in past and one that he continues to use. These are his calling cards, his modus operandi that has served him well over the years.

Mr. Hughes is a masochistic. personality who  skillfully employs   this tactic to garner home support when launches  ferocious attacks on Britain by alleging that Britain is solely responsible for the Island’s hardships and financial woes.   His acrid rhetoric is unfathomable for a person of his intelligence and could only be attributed to the antics of the insane.  He gives no apologies for his erroneous statements and treats those around him with disdain and contempt if they oppose his point of view. To him, this qualifies as the ultimate betrayal and is paramount to treason. This type of behavior is childish, distasteful and lacks any sense of professionalism.

He is renowned for creating hostile conflicts with Britain to give the illusion that they are infringing the rights of the Island to autonomy and full self internal government. He has vehemently reject Britain’s right to oversight even though they have the responsibility for such administration. To show his resistance to Britain’s insistence on maintaining its administration of this overseas territory, he has recently embarked on a campaign to petition Britain for the island’s independence and claims that the population is in favor of this decision without a need for a referendum. Again another juvenile ploy aimed at pressuring Britain to bow to his ridiculous requests. His lack of negotiation skills or diplomacy is his main obstacle to establishing a normal working relationship with Britain. No one wants to collaborate with someone who possesses no ability to think analytically or present sound plans for progress and forging ahead. He has no imagination and thus is unable to present a master plan or blueprint for Anguilla’s future.

 While a majority of Anguillians favor more control of their internal affairs, to them independence is not an option as the Island population is too small for it to be a viable. So, why is there a sudden urgency to push for independence?   According to local rumors, Mr. Hughes apparently has designs of becoming Anguilla’s first President. It is utterly laughable and absurd for Mr. Hughes to entertain such lofty ambitions and it is an insult to the people of Anguilla for him to believe that they will blindly follow him down that path. Such a decision will ultimately be disastrous for the island, its economy and its people because the island’s only means of income is derived from its tourism industry. There are no other industries or other businesses established on there. Only a certifiable mad man can conjure up such abstract projections that are devoid of rational thinking and definitely not based in reality. It will most certainly take a   lunatic to actually believe that there can be a positive outcome from all of this

The question thus remains how do we view Mr. Hughes and his political legacy? Is he the political Ace of Spades or his consummate arrogance makes him a Jack of Asses? Judging from the characteristics highlighted here it is highly unlikely that he will be labeled anything other than the latter. You be the judge.