Obi Egbuna Jr November 3, 2021

When our Native American sisters and brothers refer to Mother Earth as God, it serves as a reminder how those who embrace the colonialist and imperialist value system not only have contaminated our planet but also reveal their desperate attempts at controlling the narrative on climate change.

History in its very special and unique way, has challenged all people who have endured either settler colonialism, kidnapping/physical displacement or in the case of Africans who experienced both atrocities simultaneously a chance to rescue the world by disarming its most ruthless conquerors, rapists, and plunders from continuing its shameful masquerade as its most noble protectors.

For Zimbabwe’s President H.E. Emmerson Mnangagwa a historic journey to Glasgow, Scotland for the 26^th United Nations Climate Change Conference commonly referred to as COP26, ensures that a leader who has a track record of fighting and winning a war for liberation and self determination on his indigenous soil, will articulate the legitimate aspirations of a nation whose land reclamation program is the engine of its revolutionary journey. 

President Mnangagwa’s sit down with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is the first time a meeting of this diplomatic magnitude has occurred since his predecessor the late Pan African Liberation Icon Robert Gabriel Mugabe met with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair for 30 minutes in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1997.

Since assuming the mantle of power, President Mnangagwa and ZANU-PF have made no secret that they are open to the slippery slope of engagement, which comes down to one fundamental criterion, whether Zimbabwe is in a position of strength or weakness whenever these encounters take place.

Because President Mnangagwa’s UK visit falls on the heels of a visit to Zimbabwe by UN Special Rapporteur Professor Alena Douhan who called for the lifting of Western Sanctions on Zimbabwe, this provides much needed leverage before a gathering under the UN’s watchful microscope and banner.

 Professor Douhan’s visit occurred around the same time that Zimbabwe and the U.N. have signed the 2022-2026 Zimbabwe United Nations Sustainable Development that will support their quest to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

Fortunately, in Zimbabwe’s case they have enjoyed some extremely important victories at the U.N. which include successfully co-hosting the UN World Tourism Summit in 2013, China and Russia vetoing an effort by US-EU Imperialism to push the UN Security Council to impose additional sanctions on Zimbabwe in 2008, Zimbabwe chairing the UN Committee on Sustainable Development after attempts by US-EU Imperialism to sabotage this opportunity in 2007, and the former US Ambassador Tony Hall to the Food and Agriculture Organization attempting to block late President Mugabe from addressing that body in 2005.

Zimbabwe’s mere presence at a U.N. gathering on Western European soil addressing climate change, ensures that US-EU Imperialism’s agenda, which in this instance is to confine the dialogue to global warming caused by humans and its impacts on our planet’s weather patterns.

This by no means suggests that Zimbabwe in particular or Mother Africa in general is politically or intellectually indifferent to developing an enhanced understanding of greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide, and methane, however the role and motivation of US-EU Imperialism’s grotesque legacy and obsession with stealing our continental wealth, and their willingness to assassinate leaders or illegally sanctioning nations who won’t capitulate or acquiesce while under immense pressure cannot be excluded from any sincere engagement pertaining to climate change.    

From the very moment that US-EU Imperialism introduced the Zimbabwe Democracy Economic Recovery Act of 2001, was ruthlessly and cowardly imposed, one of the main focuses of their media apparatus has been to divert attention away from the impact of droughts not only on Zimbabwe but the entire Southern Region of Africa (SADC).

There is evidence that also supports that US-EU Imperialism has openly conspired to deny SADC as a region more global support, to overcome all the challenges they courageously encounter courtesy of droughts primarily because of their diplomatic solidarity with Zimbabwe, whether lobbying for the lifting of sanctions or reiterating the fact that Zimbabwe as a nation can resolve their political differences without external interference.     

This dynamic should bare least arouse our curiosity and collective suspicion, as can Africa’s most agriculturally robust region, which happens to be the anchor of their employment efforts that currently represents 67% of SADC’s workforce.

According to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs five years ago, SADC as a region was confronted by their worst drought in 35 years, the areas most compromised were agricultural production described as crippled, half a million draft related livestock deaths, and the depletion of water sources and reservoirs.

The report confirmed that Angola, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe were the most environmentally compromised SADC nations by droughts.

This same document also verified that humanitarian funding levels in the region are extremely low, the casualties happened to be 2.7 million children were facing acute malnutrition, 40 million people were food insecure, and 23 million people who needed humanitarian assistance.

We remember when Cyclone Idai ravaged Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi, US Imperialism pushed a narrative that encouraged working in partnership with the Mozambican and Malawian Governments, but in Zimbabwe’s case all support should be channeled only through specific donors and NGOS.

Any discussion on climate change including Zimbabwe must include the false accusations surrounding blood diamonds, that were propagated by pro imperialist mouthpieces like Human Rights Watch and Global Witness, where the aim was to sabotage their engagement with the Kimberely Process Recertification Scheme. This included a request to openly suspend Zimbabwe’s mining efforts in Marange.

The fact that Global Witness and Human Rights Watch attempted to engineer a discussion around diamonds in Zimbabwe, that doesn’t begin with the British South African Company and the Anglo-American Corporation/DeBeers is identical, was in conjunction with US-EU Imperialism’s efforts to undermine Zimbabwe’s indigenization program.

Because European colonialist and imperialist tradition promotes an undying love of animals, we wonder if engagement with President Mnangagwa will include stopping adventurists like the US based dentist Walter Palmer showing up on our indigenous soil and murdering lions for the barbaric purpose of parading the dead animal in either his office or the basement of him humble abode.

That exchange is inextricably linked to the billions of dollars colonialists and imperialists amassed

in the jewelry, furniture and piano industry generated from ivory snatched from countless elephants, rhinos, warthogs, for thousands of years.

If US-EU Imperialism engagement with Zimbabwe or any other African nations around climate change, are aimed at diverting attention from their unjustifiable crimes against humanity, and reducing the dialogue to meteorological and environmental developments, aimed at neutralizing our ability to focus on the social climate.

Let the African world celebrate Zimbabwe’s collective resiliency under 20 years of illegal imperialist sanctions, which makes it possible for President Mnangagwa and ZANU-PF, to sit in the face of Prime Minister Johnson and his EU fraternity to deal with the heart of the matter.

Until Africans at home and abroad address the redemption of 400 million of its population that currently live on $1.90 cents a day, all engagement amongst us or with outsiders that excludes this dynamic, exposes the fine line between gullible advocates of neo colonialism and those like President Mnangagwa and ZANU-PF who are obligated to honor the path of revolution at all costs.

Obi Egbuna Jr is the US Correspondent to the Southern African Times and External Relations Officer of the Zimbabwe Cuba Friendship Association. His email address is [email protected]. His twitter account is @JrEgbuna.