Appearing as a guest on the special edition of Honestly Speaking with Claude O. Skelton-Cline on ZBVI 780AM on October 20, 2022, Dr Pickering added that The United Kingdom does not owe the VI anything in terms of where the county is at the moment.

“We have a legal relationship with them, not a moral one. They don't have any moral obligation to us They have a legal responsibility because of a colonial historical past that we continue to allow. The question is do we want to continue along that path?,” he questioned.

Dr Pickering reminded that it is a decision for the VI to make and not the United Kingdom's.

“The United Kingdom is not going to stand in our way if the majority of people in this country said they wanted to break ties, they're not going to stand in our way… I've heard that enough time to be able to repeat it,” he said.

Independence for VI to demand - Dr Pickering

Dr Pickering noted that the matter of independence is for the VI to demand what it wants from the UK.

“But we cannot demand what we want until we understand what it is we want and understanding what it is individually and collectively,”

He said the VI may be going through challenging periods of its domestic economic, social, Intellectual and spiritual lives.

“Just a reminder that the butterfly is proof that you can go through darkness of varying intensities and still become something beautiful, still become a masterpiece design by that great creator of humankind,” he said.

He called on the VI be like a butterfly.