A Tribute to ASOT MICHAEL — By Lennox Weston

I was on the road taking my son to school to university of West Indies where he is reading for a computer science degree reprising my Mr. transporter role I had for my four older daughters. I was jamming Bunny Wailer song, the old dragon, subtly trying to introduce my children to my favorite eclectic collection of songs. The music suddenly stopped, interrupted when the phone rang incessantly. I normally do not answer phone calls when I am on the road, but the phone kept ringing. When I reached UWI I finally answered.

Margaret Rose was screaming; she was screaming and bawling ASOT DEAD ASOT DEAD DEM KILL ASOT DEM KILL ASOT! I kept asking wha you say? wha you say? It took four repeats before my Brain, frozen by shock processed what Margaret Rose was shouting to me on the phone. To the constant annoyance of my friends and family, I started asking for minute details, what heart attack? No, she said, in a pool of blood, sounds like foul play.

It was true, my Student in first form at Sunnyside school, my comrade in the ABLP, my mischievous, don’t dare me Lennox, I will do it just for fun, my full of life, laughter, action, master political campaigner, best fundraiser, master performer, high risk taker, generous giver, party, fete and food lover, spoil pickney ASOT was no more.

Where do we start to do a condensed version of a tribute to this standout character?

To understand ASOT Michael you must start with his ancestry. He was born to Lebanese parents in Guadeloupe he told me, but Antiguan to the bone. The only boy child in his family with two older sisters, in a culture where boys inherit everything, lead, and are the prize of the family. ASOT was born to a colourful flamboyant father and was part of a larger Michael’s family tree in Antigua. Asot was an admixture of Lebanese and Antiguan culture and the effervescence of the French spontaneity.

Asot decided from day one he was going to be more colourful than his father, he was going to maintain and exceed the generosity of his parents, but he was not going into private business and merchandising like other members of his family and extended family. Asot got addicted to the business of politics through his political father national hero SIR Lester Bird who was Asot’s idol, and he spent countless hours practicing speaking like Sir Lester and develop similar antics down to his Che Guevara revolutionary beret.

Who can forget Asot the life of Jouvert on top Burning Flames music truck, cigar in his mouth, glass in his hand, bandana on his head, shirt- less, waving, dancing, cheering the crowd on. Asot loved to party to have a good time, even when in school in Florida and then in London to read law, Asot was more about partying and having a good time. Several times his mother called me and asked me to talk to him since she said, you are the only teacher Asot will listen too. Asot was bright and capable but had little interest in formal professional studies and acquisition of degrees in business or law. Asot wanted to follow Sir Lester Bird, he wanted to be a politician.

Asot initially had difficulties since Sir Lester had two older ‘political’ sons one of whom was a surgeon and the other a lawyer and a PhD academic, who were ahead of Asot in the pecking order and groomed by Sir Lester to enter politics and to succeed him on his retirement.

It was well known that both VC Bird, the Father of the Nation and Sir Lester Bird, National hero loved bright talented people. They sought them out, wanted them on their team, never intimidated by talent, recognizing the development of country required the best minds with demonstrated capacity and independent thought. With the help of the all-powerful Sir Lester utilizing some of the best maneuvering, utilizing some methods we can skip over in this article, Asot emerged the candidate representing ABLP in the 2004 elections in Saint Peters. Saint Peters was the strongest seat for the Labour Party where VC Bird found some of his fifth column soldiers, some of whom went to jail in seeking to advance the political interests of the Labour Party.

Sir Lester succeeded in leap frogging his two other political sons, as well as this writer who he had recruited from Washington to assist Sir John.E. ST Luce to manage the Ministry of Finance and to write the 1999 ALP election manifesto along with Sir Ron Saunders on the settled succession agreement with then Member of Parliament for Saint Peters Longford Jeremy.

To restrict the length of this tribute, I would say that despite the fact Asot never spent a long time as a Cabinet Minister since his election in 2004 and subsequent elections thereafter, Asot succeeded in leaving major footprints and a political legacy that will influence politics for a long time. Asot understood how to use his competitive advantage ruthlessly. Asot was not a development-oriented person, he was a people person. Asot did not build structures, organizations, or develop tangible community projects processes or infrastructure, Asot focused on direct giving of assistance to the people. Asot focused on assisting individuals directly and individually. Asot focused on winning the hearts of his constituents, Asot focused on living in the hearts of his constituents. Like his slogan, Asot cares was the foundation and framework of his political style and method. Asot had the personal financial resources to sustain this approach which he knew could not be matched by any other politician.

Asot masterminded the political process of giving direct personal financial contributions to those in need, for poverty alleviation, for health and for education, for childcare, for sports, for culture, for church, for burial or for fun. Asot masterminded the feel-good feeling in a political campaign as being very important for electioneering. Big name artists for concerts, for Christmas, for Carnival, for New Years for elections. Asot masterminded Ham, Turkey, Chicken giveaways at Christmas which he later extended to gifts of stove, refrigerators, bed, lumber, microwave, sheet sets, all sorts of exotic high end electrical and computerized toys and expensive adult household gifts. Asot gave everybody red or, blue, to people from all over the country but especially to his constituents. Asot also masterminded the expansion of political paraphernalia the types, color, style, description, and abundance never seen before.

Asot database, data management, House to House campaign became the gold standard. Asot was the only politician allowed in people’s house at midnight, the only politician who an Adventist would allow in their house on Friday nights. Asot was a hugger, a picture poser, a granny, and baby lover. Asot was the only politician to go and take food hot out of a cooking pot in people’s home, declare he is starving and wolf it down. Asot always wanted to use the bathroom, and he never left without leaving a gift behind.

At every funeral Asot had the biggest wreath he would walk in late for the grand entrance, well decked out, well dressed, his face pious, well polished, greeting everyone with a wave like the POPE of the Catholic Church, strode into the front row, sitting with the family and more times than not offering to deliver the eulogy filled with exotic long quotes from poems and scriptures ,speaking confidently about the early life of an old man he only met a few years previously.

Asot was meticulous in storing information he hired professionals to do his filing system Asot kept documentation of everything. Asot loved food, he loved parties, he knew how to get money from the rich and powerful, the local or the foreign, the tight-fisted and the meanest, details of some of his methods are best left to the quiet private discussion of practitioners.

Asot could deliver a speech, he could deliver a punch line. Asot had colour, action, expression, excitement, passion. It was fun writing a speech for Asot and watch him bring it to life. Asot never did a speech without consulting religious experts who contributed relevant scriptures that Asot would deliver piously like an alter boy. Asot always spent hours in the mirror practicing his speech for big occasions, he was a great sight reader, many would not even guess he was reading while delivering his speeches flawlessly on big occasions and often in Parliament.

Asot took his political talents and financial resources regional, he contributed in Dominica and Saint Vincent, Grenada, St. Lucia, Barbados Bahamas and many more that I do not even know about. He befriended leaders of all these countries, always showing them an exciting time. Asot friends will tell you, you do not know Miami and Paris until Asot takes you out on the town.

Asot was a boss manipulator, an intrigue creator, when Asot told you what a friend or colleague said about you, right away you declare war on that person. Asot would call me boasting of his latest maneuver, who he just outsmarted, who he just riled up, laughing saying Lennox you know they believe me.

ASOT had to utilize all his talents, skills, and significant financial resources for what must be his best campaign performance. Asot came within six votes of pulling off a stunning electoral victory and making his beloved labour party pay the ultimate price of losing political power and seeing Asot ascend to the office of Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda. Abandoned by his close friends and political party, Asot muscled his way to within six votes of an electoral victory and turning his ABLP Party out of office. In so doing, Asot becoming the first independent winner of a Parliamentary seat, winning the strongest seat for the ABLP, a seat never lost by labour party in any elections for over seventy years, sending panic, mayhem and shock waves through the Labour Party 2023 election, leaving the party suffering from schizophrenia,  a condition which might persist with the ABLP possibly having to face three by elections and could find itself out of power before June 2025 if these by elections are not handled carefully. A reality that is so frightening that I have decided to restart Uncut before its January 2025 planned relaunch. ALL hands-on deck, the real big guns of ABLP must now be fully deployed.

In Death, the Labour Party has reclaimed Asot as one of its true Comrade, not afraid to stand and fight even if alone, even if abandoned by long held dear friends.

The people of Antigua and Barbuda will miss Asot not only for his generosity but for his humour, high spirit, comradeship. his financial clout, his deadly political campaign, his aggressive fund raising, his love for fun, frolic and party, for his expensive watches and well tailored suit, for his entertaining speech delivery and important interventions in Parliamentary debate, for his love of sports, for carnival for his love, for his kindness and even mischievousness’ and trouble making.

In tribute to Asot Michael I would recommend that an Asot Michael Humanitarian Foundation be established, a public private financing partnership, managed by independent private management to continue the legacy of helping those in need for a variety of causes with all Antiguan embassies abroad asked to raise funds annually from international community and from local private sector.

We will all be forced to say our final goodbyes when we lay Asot Michael to rest. I say to our Government Cabinet change the rules of need be Give ASOT  a state Funeral he gave so many people so much he after all created political History beating the labour party in its strong hold and becoming the first elected independent member of Parliament the people are demanding it let not our government look churlish and mean spirited, we know how Asot would enjoy the pomp and ceremony. Let us send off our Comrade in fine style as we mourn with his family friends and Constituents and the people of Antigua and Barbuda at home through out the Caribbean and abroad. We mourn especially Soraya and Theresa, his son Nigel, and his beloved grandson in whom he had great plans and purpose. We trust the good memories Asot has left behind will sustain you and all of us and you will find comfort from your faith in God.

No one is an island, no man is pure or without fault or flaw. We come to this earth not to stay but to do the best we can, to improve the lives of our family, friends, our countrymen and women, and to leave the world a better place than we met it. No man knows his hour or appointed time or method when we will make our exit. Let us be kind to each other, carry no malice, Speak Truth to Power always, seek to do what is right not convenient.

Asot has left his mark, and we pray that his soul will find peace and rest in the arms of the Almighty who created all of us and who alone will judge us.

Farewell my Student Farewell my Comrade Farewell.

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