00:00Professor Kujo has some concerns over the plans for the new Coat of Arms.
00:06Despite the unanimous support in Parliament,
00:09Professor Kujo described it as an arbitrary move that goes against democracy.
00:14He says there should have been a national discussion before a final decision was made.
00:30We don't have a committee or a competition.
00:32Why everything is so much in haste?
00:34You're going to die tomorrow morning, is that it?
00:36You're not going to die tomorrow, so you've got to do it in a week rather than a year.
00:40We do not think through changes.
00:43And everybody's just over here, applaud or shake hands or praise us.
00:46We do not think through and that's going to be oversteering.
00:49Professor Kujo says everyone keeps talking about moving away from colonialism.
00:55However, he tells TV6,
00:57the way this decision was undertaken for the country's highest national emblem
01:02does not resemble democracy.
01:04The emblem that represents us,
01:07it seems to me there should be input of all of the symbols, of all of the citizens.
01:12That's the non-colonial way of doing it.
01:15In this case, what we are repeating is the colonialist way,
01:19the strongman, the governor, the colonel secretary.
01:24Professor Kujo also suggests that if changes are to be made,
01:28those changes should reflect the multicultural aspect of Trinidad and Tobago.
01:34There are three major blocs in the country, that is to say,
01:37the African bloc, the Indian bloc,
01:41and of course the other cultures, the Chinese, Portuguese, etc.
01:47It seems to me if the coat of arms is a symbol of the nation,
01:53it should involve all of these elements of these three dimensions of our people.
02:00Now, the steel band, I guess it comes from behind the bridge,
02:04but it's really an African tradition.
02:06It comes out of the tambo-bambo.
02:08He says, while he's proud, the pan is now recognised as the national instrument, he believes.
02:15Consideration for having three elements is more important than simply having one symbol.
02:22Nicole M Romany, TV6 News.
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