Poet and environmental activist, Nnimmo Bassey with the rhythm of his flute sends a clear message on not just his stance on the environment, he goes further to point out the consequences of our actions and inaction, and asks everybody who cares as much as he does, to join him in dealing with offenders.
In dissecting the poem, one would stumble on a number of issues raised by the poet, ranging from non-compliance to environmental friendly laws, to an outright disregard of mother earth, its inhabitant and the exploration done with reckless abandon.
In his cold war against offenders, companies are dragged, the government of the day is implicated, and even individuals are complicit. The poet makes an open declaration of his stance and his readiness to fight their irresponsibility, with the tools at his disposal, should they not heed the voice of reason. Thus;
I will not dance to your beat
If you call plantations forests
I will not sing with you
If you privatise my water
I will confront you with my fists
If climate change means death to me but business to you
I will expose your evil greed
If you don’t leave crude oil in the soil
Coal in the hole and tar sands in the land
I will confront and denounce you
The poet delves further into his campaign for mother earth, he confronts those who speak from both sides of their mouth and their nefarious acts. He threatens legal actions, he threatens to pay offenders in their own coin, and one could feel the poets concern, his distress and seeming fear of the consequences of the actions of man that may eventually lead to our annihilation.
If you insist on carbon offsetting and other do-nothing false solutions
I will make you see red
If you keep talking of REDD and push forest communities away from their land
I will drag you to the Climate Tribunal
If you pile up ecological debt
& refuse to pay your climate debt
I will make you drink your own medicine
Even those doing negative endorsement, and refusing knowingly or unknowingly toe the line of sustainable practices, the path of cleaner energy. He declares, “I will not dance to your beat.” The poet promises to make offenders “see red,” offenders who contravene the provisions of the Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) campaign. Coming from the Niger Delta part of the country, where oil pollution and its adverse effect on the environment is an ugly reality. The poet sums it up and in the same studious tone which he began thus;
If you endorse genetically modified crops
And throw dust into the skies to mask the sun
I will not dance to your beat
Unless we walk the sustainable path
And accept real solutions & respect Mother Earth
Unless you do
I will not &
We will not dance to your beat
