Dickson C. Igwe. Photo: VINO/File

A country is the sum total of the thinking and behaviors of the people who inhabit that land. If the critical mass of those residents hold values that are honest and wholesome, the country is honest and wholesome. If on the other hand, the majority possess morals that are those of the thief and scammer, then the country is lost. 

As these Virgin Islands prepare for a General Election, it is imperative that its leaders after the Election hold the values that drive the Virgin Islands towards a vision that is safe, wholesome and prosperous. Without sound and moral values as guiding principles for the country’s people, there can be no achieving any type of vision for the future. Eldorado will never be

Now, the man and woman of character and virtue are the sole guarantors of honest and accountable governance. That is so, even in the private sector. Successful businesses are values-driven. A business is its strategy, mission and vision of course. However, if the values of the employees are not in line with that mission and vision, then all is in vain, and the owners of the business have to replace their staff or simply go bust.

The great challenge Post the Commission of Inquiry is the wholly reactionary nature of the response from too many of the country’s residents and leaders. Proactive behavior is preferred to reactive. Quite clearly, this is the moral challenge we all face. There is a ‘’harping’’ on about UK Foreign Office conspiracies, subterfuge, and bad intentions, that in this observer’s opinion is simply absurd.

The longer this country avoids the correction of what were clearly pitfalls revealed in the Commission’s Report that led to the edge of the abyss, the more likely the Virgin Islands remains underdeveloped, or even plunges over the edge.

The Commission’s Recommendations instead of being viewed as burdensome should be swallowed as a bitter medicine that will lead to a cure for the patient.

As the Philosopher Pubilius Syrus once upon a time stated, ‘’ from the errors of others, the wise man corrects his own.

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