However, even when only grudgingly conceded, respect for Mr Seaga was universal. For, beyond his political work, as leader of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and prime minister of Jamaica, was his research as a social anthropologist, cultural activist, development strategist and ideologue. Indeed, Mr Seaga displayed not only great stamina but an enviable capacity for hard work and detail that has allowed him, over nearly 50 years in public life, to accomplish what ordinary mortals would require several lifetimes to achieve.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, at 78, Mr Seaga, who, since 2005, has been a distinguished fellow at the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI), shows no signs of slowing down, even if there is less stridency in the voice and urgency in the gait.
Over the past four years, as was revealed at a function at the Mona Visitors' Lodge last Thursday, he has all but completed two volumes of an autobiography, completed three works on cultural issues, and with the help of his assistants, compiled 50 years of macro-economic data on Jamaica. During that time, he delivered 28 public lectures as well as worked with graduate students at the university.
The sheer body of work over this short period, and Mr Seaga's transformation from political life into being a public scholar, would of itself have been impressive, except he is working on more books. But even more important to us are the other things that Mr Seaga, in collaboration with the UWI, is doing.
Caribbean leaders collection
Mr Seaga's papers and writings, as well as video and audio material, are being digitised into a special collection, so as to be available to researchers and to the public.
In other words, Mr Seaga's perspectives - represented in over 350,000 pages of documents - on 50 years of Jamaica's development, eight of which he was at the apex as prime minister, will be accessible in what Mona's principal and UWI pro-vice chancellor, Professor Gordon Shirley, hopes will be the "first Caribbean leaders collection".
Mr Seaga's collection at Mona will come closest to the presidential library that is now established by former US presidents. It is a concept, if not the precise model, which we feel is worthy of emulation in Jamaica and elsewhere in the Caribbean.
For instance, the foundation established in honour of Mr Seaga's predecessor and successor, Michael Manley, who was an important figure in Third World politics of the 1980s, might be transformed into a formal independent research institute, or be attached to one of the universities or university colleges. And there is P. J. Patterson, who, over 14 years as prime minister, the longest so far, would have accumulated mountains of personal documents -
Such efforts are, of course, not cheap. Mr Seaga's project is being financed by the private sector via the UWI's Development and Endowment Fund. His and other efforts are deserving of continued support.
We, however, feel that such efforts are so important to the growth of the Caribbean that regional governments should make special allocations in support of the leaders' collections project.
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