The historical significance of the Government's decision to rename Nassau International Airport in honour of The Bahamas' first Prime Minister, the late Sir Lynden Pindling, cannot be understated.

A good case in support of the Government's decision is made by Rev. Dr. J. Emmette Weir, in a guest commentary published in Saturday's Guardian, in which he cites several accomplishments by Sir Lynden during his years as Prime Minister that clearly support the fact that he made "significant contributions to the political, economic and social development of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas."

Indeed, the vast majority of Bahamians – if they are honest in their assessment of Sir Lynden's contributions to this country – would agree that no single person in the modern-day history of The Bahamas had a greater impact on the social and political transformation of the country than Sir Lynden did.

Those who may be inclined to dispute this would be wise to do some research into the conditions that existed in The Bahamas in the 1950s and 1960s when Sir Lynden established himself as a national figure destined for greatness.

When he returned to The Bahamas in the early 1950s as a young lawyer, he could have easily taken the route to upward mobility and success that most of his black contemporaries who were fortunate enough to go abroad for legal training took.

But for him, securing a place in an established law firm and rubbing shoulders with the social elite at functions held at Government House was not his idea of how best to begin to try and level the playing field for blacks in this country. Instead, Sir Lynden chose to focus his efforts on championing the black cause. Keep in mind that as late as the early 1960s, there were separate movie theatres for blacks and whites, very few blacks were employed as clerks in stores on Bay Street, and the only blacks working in banks were the ones employed as janitors or doing some other menial job.

Having grown up Over-The-Hill, young Lynden Pindling had first-hand knowledge of how difficult it was for some families to survive from day to day. So it is possible that while he was toiling over his law books in London, he made up his mind that he would seek to make a difference in the lives of black Bahamians.

And he indeed did. One of six Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) members first elected to the House of Assembly in 1956, his leadership of the PLP during the progressive struggle certainly deserves the lion's share of the credit for the party's historic election victory on Jan. 10, 1967, that ushered in majority rule for the first time.

What's more, it certainly is not a coincidence that the Government has chosen Thursday, July 6, four days before The Bahamas celebrates 33 years as an independent nation, to rename the airport Sir Lynden Pindling International Airport, given the fact that he is generally credited with being the "Father of the Nation" – the man who led the county into independence.

Considering all of these facts, it is monumentally important that the remarkable accomplishments of the man whom many black Bahamians likened to Moses following the l967 elections remain historically significant for future generations of Bahamians.

What better reminder could there be than having the country's principal airport named after him.