Embracing green gospel in Africa’s pearl

In the grand narrative of energy, there once existed a fossilized tale, a saga of dependency on finite resources that chained our future to the depths of the earth. In the heartlands of The Pearl, where the rhythms of life intertwine with the pulse of the earth, a tale of two narratives unfolds.

The narrative of fossil fuels versus green renewable energy. For too long, the lands that cradle the Murchison Falls National Park host communities that have borne witness to the dual nature of our relationship with the earth, a relationship marred by the spectre of oil and gas extraction and haunted by the shadows of industrial development. But amidst this tale of yore, a stirring revolution beckons a transformative hymn that resonates with the promise of renewal, sustainability, and boundless energy. This is the gospel of Green Sustainable Energy, and within the corridors of East African Crude Oil Pipeline host communities, a divine wind of change awaits.

Gone are the days when the whispers of progress were shrouded in clouds of carbon, when the very lifeblood of our economies flowed through pipelines of pollution. Today, we illuminate the path to a brighter, greener future. In the annals of history, the oil curse looms a large spectre that has cast a pall of despair over the very communities it purports to uplift.

From the shores of Lake Albert to the plains of Murchison Falls, the promise of wealth has oftentimes brought devastation where CNOOC and Total Energies have ensured the installation of drills, which has significantly affected aquatic life in the lake, leaving fishing communities and mongers suffering at the expense of evil profits.

As young people from the oil host communities, we stand as a beacon of hope, a sanctuary where the seeds of sustainability are sown, nurtured, and harvested. It embraces a new creed that champions the virtues of renewable energy, harnessing the power of the sun, wind, and water to fuel our collective journey toward prosperity. This is the gospel that speaks to the heart of our shared humanity, calling upon us to steward the voices of the affected communities of oil and gas, those host communities killed by the fleeing wildlife and the same animals destroying their plantations in defense of their own survival and home.

But this transformation is not merely a shift in policy; it is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and a testimony of what is to evolve and transcend through the years. Within the hallowed valleys of the Albertine, it has been proven that most people engaged in charcoal burning, timber logging and felling of forests have actually never succeeded since it is a grave sin against the laws of mother nature. This is a symphony that reverberates with the melodies of progress, as we chart a course towards a future powered by the forces of nature. Consider, if you will, the plight of the Bugoma forest chimpanzees, a community besieged by encroaching human settlements, driven ever closer to the brink of extinction by the relentless march of progress. In their desperation, they have turned to desperate measures, kidnapping children from nearby villages—an act of desperation born not of malice, but of survival and defense of their own place called home.

In this new era of enlightenment, as young people we stand as a paragon of virtue a custodian of the Earth, advocating for the public and condemn them to turn away from the support of fossil fuels, growing, illegal charcoal burning and timber logging, sugarcane planting in forested landscapes. It quotes a message of Psalm 115, a call for all to understand and take heed of the impacts of climate change as manifested for the past 10 years. We are talking about prolonged droughts, destructive rains, floods, high temperatures, invasion of locusts, even research proves that the outbreak of Covid-19 is linked to climate change. And yet, even as we mourn the loss of innocence, we cannot ignore the role that our own actions have played in this tragedy. For it is we who have plundered their ancestral homes in the name of progress, heedless of the consequences wrought upon both man and beast alike.

So, let us heed the clarion call of change, let us embrace the green gospel with fervor and zeal. Let us march forward, hand-in-hand, towards a future where the legacy we leave behind is not one of desolation, but of hope, of promise, and of boundless possibility. Let us stand as guardians of the earth, stewards of our shared destiny, and champions of a future where the blessings of abundance are shared by all. For in the gospel of green sustainable economy lies the promise of a brighter tomorrow—a tomorrow where the sins of our past are washed away, a vision that embraces the principles of sustainability, equity and justice for all and where the earth itself sings with the harmony of life renewed.

For God and my country.

Balach Bakundane,

[email protected]