00:00Chief Justice, rapidly, do you ever wish that you could speak more freely?
00:06Yes, and in due course I intend to.
00:10You have to be careful when you're in leadership positions
00:12that you don't let people dictate the narrative and dictate the agenda.
00:20And I know the politicians on the platform know that only too well,
00:24you know, that if you become responsive and all you're doing is responding to attack,
00:31then that's what occupies your energy.
00:35You cannot hold any position of authority or leadership for any significant time
00:41without coming under attack.
00:43Chief Justice Ivor Archie, as he spoke during the Men in Leadership Forum
00:48at the Bishop's High School in Tobago,
00:50moderated by Ira Mathur, Chief Secretary Fali Akustin, also a former student,
00:57spoke of him being suspended following a fight in school.
01:01And there is this student tormenting me again.
01:05And this time it got physical.
01:08And I got my first suspension from the lady who is now the principal of Bishop's High School.
01:14She was my former teacher then.
01:16And so I'm going home with this suspension.
01:20I think it was about two or three days.
01:22And in those days you have to carry the suspension home
01:24and your parents have to sign on the slip, you know,
01:30so that you can return to school.
01:33And, you know, stupid me, give it to my parents to sign.
01:36I could have just probably forged my parents' dignity and pretend it away.
01:39But I gave it to my parents.
01:42Of course, I went a whole notherly feel at home
01:45because your parents from country send you to tongue to fight
01:50and to be war-wish in class.
01:53So there was a whole nother story at home.
01:56And that was to me the only real testing moment.
02:01Former student and former Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley stated drama assisted him in public life,
02:10especially when at school he did not know what he wanted to become.
02:14Dr. Rowley also referenced Chief Secretary Farley-Augustin during his comments.
02:20At the time, I didn't know what I was going to become or what I would need to do.
02:24But I had to, and I loved it.
02:26I loved drama.
02:27I loved to speak to an audience.
02:29And in the end, it turned out that I did that for most of my adult life.
02:35And very well, too.
02:36So we have some things here which are extremely valuable,
02:41which at the time when they're being instilled, you take them for granted.
02:45That story that Farley spoke about being spoken to by people in the street,
02:50the same thing happened to me.
02:52When I passed to come to bishops,
02:54there were four of us in our village that was going to bishops.
02:57And I can't think of the number of adults who gave me a stand-and-stop-and-listen lecture in the road.
03:04You're going to black kids' school now.
03:07Don't go down there and la-la-la-la.
03:09We just, you've got to lecture from people.
03:11So when you thought of deviating or underperforming,
03:15you think of those people.
03:16Elizabeth Williams, TV6 News.
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