Understandably. This cannot be the best of times for Nigerians to offer solidarity to others in need. Nigerians too daily beg for solidarity in search of electricity ever in short supply, water, physical security as other existential needs as basic as simple truth from those elected and appointed to offer good governance. Certainly it is trite and academic getting Nigerians out of the insularity of “wildfires” of kidnappings, armed robberies, banditry, corruption, hate speeches and hate conducts for them to appreciate the significance of amazing “ fires … ripping through the Amazon”, in Brazil. But the point cannot be overstated! Amazon in Brazil is the world’s largest rainforest with unparalleled impact on climate change which, in turns impact on the health of every single soul on the planet. Received wisdom has it that as the trees of Amazon take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen, the rain forest pulls planet-warming greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere. Without this amazing natural balancing, climate change speeds up leading to the current environmental challenges worldwide: global warming, tornados, earthquakes and devastating flooding among others. Wild fires in the world’s largest rainforest combined with unrestrained logging, deforestation, mining, and agribusiness by global capital, undermine Amazon’s capacity to provide buffer for our fast detorrrating well being. According to the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) of Brazil there have been unprecedented 80,000 fires in 2019 alone, more than half taking place in the Amazon.
There’s a consensus that the death of Amazon by whatever means including fires means the death of our collective well being. “One in ten of all animal species on Earth call the Amazon home” . Uncontrolled fires therefore have devastating impact on animal species as well as humans. On a single day alone, precisely on August 20th it got bad such that the burning fires “ seemed to turn day into night in São Paulo.”. Already Brazil “shows one of the sharpest increases in mortality rates”. This explains why the concern of the recent concluded summit of G7 countries in Biarritz about the seeming indifference of the government of Brazil under the controversial President Jair Messias Bolsonaro was necessary and legitimate even when belated.
Bolsonaro government has said it will reject an offer of aid worth millions of dollars from G7 countries comprising of the US, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, Britain and Canada. to help the fires in the Amazon rainforest, claiming it has the blazes under control.
The French President Emmanuel Macron took to Twitter calling for action to call including an emergency international talks on the Amazon at the G7 summit, a move Bolsonaro dubbed colonial and insulting to Brazilian sovereignty . On August 26th, the world’s seven largest economies offered Brazil more than $22 million in aid to help it get the fires under control. Bolsonaro promptly turned down the money, accusing Macron on Twitter of treating Brazil like a colony. And that is the real first fire, the “political fire” of President Bolsonaro whose hero is (guess who?) President Donald Trump. Bolsonaro mirrors Donald Trump in climate change rejection and in other worst forms of reactionary conservative views that include attacks on Workers’ rights and social inclusion as contained in UN sustainable Development Goals, SDGs. Indeed Donald Trump true to type had “congratulated Bolsonaro on his handling of the fires”.
The real political fire started in October last year when Jair Messias Bolsonaro, an authoritarian, racist, macho right wing politician, won the first round of the presidential elections in Brazil. He campaigned under the notorious BBB acronym which stands for “‘Bíblia, Boi e Bala’, meaning Bible, Beef and Bullets (referring to the agribusiness and weapons lobby)”. He embodies the most reactionary values. He openly defends the dictatorship and “stands for the glorification of violence as well as the disregard of all democratic values. This month marks the 500 days of unjust jailing of his predecessor injustice Freedom for Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, one of the greatest popular leaders in Latin American history, due to a complex judicial farce. Lula is innocent; he was not entitled to a fair trial, but was the victim of a political persecution. The recent information made public by The Intercept portal makes it clear that Lula’s investigations and trials have damaged basic guarantees of any citizen, including the right to a trial by an impartial judge. Recognized jurists and researchers from around the world have just released an article revealing their perplexity over this injustice, and asking the Brazilian Supreme Court to overturn Lula’s convictions and release him immediately. Lula, who left the Presidency of the Republic as one of the most prominent world leaders, had his image, history and life massacred by an articulated action among sectors of the judiciary, the press and political parties that now govern our country.
Several international leaders and institutions have already expressed their support for Lula, denouncing the rupture of the Democratic Rule of Law in Brazil represented by his arrest. August 20 marked 500-days of unjust incarceration of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The first political fire of Bolsonaro, the world must put off is unjust incarceration of Lula. It is as important as putting off the wild fires In Amazon.
Issa Aremu mni
