Why isn’t Trelawny exploiting Bolt’s legacy?
Ever since Usain Bolt’s triple gold assault on Beijing, China, in 2008, I have been using this column to call for the erection of at least one monument in his honour in his home parish, Trelawny, to immortalise his success, and, hopefully, inspire future generations to strive for excellence.
Now some 10 years later and another five Olympic gold medals, three world records, an enviable amount of IAAF World Championship gold medals and the undisputed title as the greatest track athlete of all times, there is still no monument to celebrate this extraordinary man in the parish of his birth.
In an era in which we are wasting time quarrelling over whether a highway, which the Jamaica people are paying for daily through toll charges, should or shouldn’t be named in honour of former prime minister Edward Seaga, we are still blinded to the fact that a man, whose life achievement has made him a global icon, is still not getting his due respect in his hometown.
In fact, every time I drive past the ‘All Bolt’ statue at the new Tracks and Records’ location in Montego Bay, I can’t help but wonder why the Trelawny Municipal Corporation, the Usain Bolt Foundation and the government of Jamaica can’t seem to get it right in terms of addressing this great discrepancy in honouring this man, whose global impact rivals that of Bob Marley and Marcus Garvey.
While I am not seeking to elevate one mayor and put down another, I honestly believe that if Montego Bay’s mayor, Councillor Homer Davis, was the mayor of Falmouth, he would have found a way to ensure that at least the statue of Bolt gets erected somewhere in the parish. I am therefore suggesting to Falmouth’s mayor, Councillor Colin Gager, if others are procrastinating, he should take the lead in getting this matter resolved.
LEGENDARY STATUS
I find it most disconcerting, if not insulting, that other countries in the world, where Bolt has no other connections besides running at these locations, respect him enough to create impressive statues to celebrate his greatest. London, England, has a life-size wax statue; while Russia and Germany both have strategically located statues to celebrate his legendary status.
I have heard through the grapevine that a statue is earmarked for Falmouth, but the various officials cannot decide on where it should be located. It is my understanding that officialdom wants it inside the Falmouth Cruise Ship Pier, which is off limit to the regular folks in Trelawny; while the people, including the great man’s family, want it erected in Water Square, where all, including visiting cruise ship passengers, will be able to see it.
The dispute over where the Bolt statue is to be sited, to my mind, is yet another classic case of the exploitative nature of officialdom, who seems more concerned about securing a financial benefit from having the statue as a tourism prop than a source of inspiration to our people. It is the very same attitude they have taken towards Bob Marley, who is not considered good enough to be an official national hero yet his global status is being used to drive tourism. I am again using this column to call on the various stakeholders in Trelawny to wake up and recognise that, even if they can only affix a tourism value to Bolt, with serious planning, the marquee attraction, which is missing from the parish, could be created out of Bolt’s amazing legacy.
INTERNATIONAL TRAINING FACILITY
I am again suggesting that the following be done: the naming of the stretch of north coast highway from Duncans to Martha Brae the Usain Bolt Highway, the reconfiguring and the renaming of the Trelawny Stadium as the Usain Bolt Stadium of Excellence, the renaming of the William Knibb High School, the Usain Bolt High School, the erection of a Bolt statue in Water Square, Falmouth, and the creation of a Usain Bolt Museum in Sherwood Content.
In my opinion, the benefits that would flow from putting the Bolt brand on Trelawny could include the following: using the stadium as an international training facility for athletes from all over the world, using the Usain Bolt Museum as a must see attraction for cruise ship passengers, and then collectively use the school, the statue, the stadium and the museum as a complete tourism package. As I stated above, for the above suggestions to work, it will require strong local leadership, which is clearly missing at this time. I am again making a personal call on the mayor of Falmouth to take the lead in this matter.