Sanyatti
Member
It is hard to imagine a country with a lower public profile than Equatorial Guinea. Even though the tiny nation was the setting for "Tropical Gangsters," a best-selling book of development and its problems, very few people outside West and Central Africa could probably place it on the right continent.
Easily overlooked between Gabon and Cameroon, where it occupies both an island and a sliver of mainland , Equatorial Guinea was very prosperous for a few years after gaining independence from Spain in 1968.
The capital Malabo with its sandy beaches, was an artificial paradise. The Town Hall was too flamboyant to be bureaucratic, and its benches gleamed against a background of magnificent ancient tiles.
Unfortunately authoritarian rule and mismanagement dragged the country , once describe as the Kuwait of Africa, into an economic abyss as deep as the oil fields off its coasts.
It is led by Obiang Nguema, who is now the world's longest serving president, 43 years after toppling and executing his brutal uncle Biyogo Nguema. The 80-year-old Obiang, has always been elected with more than 90 percent of votes, something that has been questioned by international observers.
To extend his family's rule over the country and to continue plundering its wealth, he has been grooming his playboy son Nguema Mangue as his future successor.
In 1968, Equatorial Guinea occupied a more than honorable rank in Africa.Thanks to its cacao, which was considered the best in the world, it boasted the highest incomes in Africa.
Considering the country's small size, the road system and infrastructures were more extensive than in any other nation of a Central Africa scarcely spoiled by French colonialism.
Sadly Equatorial Guinea is now among 20 poorest countries in the world according to data released by the World Bank .
The country's economic decline, began a couple of years after independence in 1968. Biyogo Nguema, the founding father declared himself president for life in 1971 and transformed the country into a kind of concentration camp in which communications with the outside world were as strictly controlled as possible. He also banned the Catholic Church.
During the period , the population of Equatorial Guinea, which had been estimated to be around 400,000 decreased by 60% due to mass executions or many people fleeing to exile especially to Libreville. Nigerian labourers who were instrumental in the production of cocoa, the backbone of the country's economy, also fled.
President Biyogo Nguema himself was a mad man who frequented a psychiatric clinic in Barcelona. He once executed his minister for Foreign Affairs, Atanasio Ndongo Miyone, by throwing him through the window of a high storey building. He then declared himself minister for Foreign Affairs, serving for one year, before appointing his cousin ,Ndongo Nguema, as the substantive minister.
In August 1979, Lt-Col Obiang Nguema, then serving as assistant minister for defence , launched an assault on his uncle's government.
left with very few friends as his nephew tightened the noose, Biyogo Nguema turned to North Korea for help and sent his wife and children to Pyongyang for security reasons. In fact they were among the few black people in North Korea.
Despite recieving great support from China and Russia, Biyogo Nguema could not withstand the sustained military assault by his nephew, which led to to his overthrow. He was arrested and presented before a military tribunal.
The tribunal delivered a harsh verdict committing
President Biyogo Nguema and six of his co-defendants to death and the confiscation of their property. The president recieved the harshest sentence with the tribunal condemning him to death 101 times.
However, one problem arose, after he swore that his ghost would return and take revenge on all those who had taken part in his trial. The Equatorial Guinea soldiers, consequently, refused to shoot him. This resulted in the new military junta, hiring Moroccan troops to carry out the execution.
On taking charge of the government after executing his uncle, Obiang Nguema was keen to potray himself as a progressive leader committed to democracy and the rule of law. He ordered the release of 5,000 prisoners, reestablished freedom of worship as well as the right to fish in the sea which had been reserved to the Russian by his uncle.
But with time, Obiang Nguema's rule became rife with corruption and human rights abuses, albeit not comparable to his uncle's. Even though the country is a wash with oil which has been in production since 1995, it is still mired in poverty and corruption orchestrated by Nguema, his family and cronies. In 2019, Transparency International rated Equatorial Guinea 173rd out of 180 countries on its Corruption Perceptions Index.
It estimated that Nguema Mangue the vice president and the first born son of president Obiang Nguema used his position to amass wealth of more than $300 million. Most of it and other assets have been confiscated by foreign governments after being flagged as proceeds of corruption. This does not include the amount hidden by his father in Swiss accounts.
As one critic said : “The most probable thing is that the oil money will run out without the Guineans ever benefiting.” Despite having one of the highest GDPs per capita in Africa, few people have access to proper education or healthcare, and many houses in the capital still lack drinking water.
There is no doubt that the Mangue family, which originally came from Gabon, has destroyed EquatorialGuinea. Consequently, Obiang Nguema is among African leaders who more deserve to be overthrown because of their brutality, corruption and venality.
Easily overlooked between Gabon and Cameroon, where it occupies both an island and a sliver of mainland , Equatorial Guinea was very prosperous for a few years after gaining independence from Spain in 1968.
The capital Malabo with its sandy beaches, was an artificial paradise. The Town Hall was too flamboyant to be bureaucratic, and its benches gleamed against a background of magnificent ancient tiles.
Unfortunately authoritarian rule and mismanagement dragged the country , once describe as the Kuwait of Africa, into an economic abyss as deep as the oil fields off its coasts.
It is led by Obiang Nguema, who is now the world's longest serving president, 43 years after toppling and executing his brutal uncle Biyogo Nguema. The 80-year-old Obiang, has always been elected with more than 90 percent of votes, something that has been questioned by international observers.
To extend his family's rule over the country and to continue plundering its wealth, he has been grooming his playboy son Nguema Mangue as his future successor.
In 1968, Equatorial Guinea occupied a more than honorable rank in Africa.Thanks to its cacao, which was considered the best in the world, it boasted the highest incomes in Africa.
Considering the country's small size, the road system and infrastructures were more extensive than in any other nation of a Central Africa scarcely spoiled by French colonialism.
Sadly Equatorial Guinea is now among 20 poorest countries in the world according to data released by the World Bank .
The country's economic decline, began a couple of years after independence in 1968. Biyogo Nguema, the founding father declared himself president for life in 1971 and transformed the country into a kind of concentration camp in which communications with the outside world were as strictly controlled as possible. He also banned the Catholic Church.
During the period , the population of Equatorial Guinea, which had been estimated to be around 400,000 decreased by 60% due to mass executions or many people fleeing to exile especially to Libreville. Nigerian labourers who were instrumental in the production of cocoa, the backbone of the country's economy, also fled.
President Biyogo Nguema himself was a mad man who frequented a psychiatric clinic in Barcelona. He once executed his minister for Foreign Affairs, Atanasio Ndongo Miyone, by throwing him through the window of a high storey building. He then declared himself minister for Foreign Affairs, serving for one year, before appointing his cousin ,Ndongo Nguema, as the substantive minister.
In August 1979, Lt-Col Obiang Nguema, then serving as assistant minister for defence , launched an assault on his uncle's government.
left with very few friends as his nephew tightened the noose, Biyogo Nguema turned to North Korea for help and sent his wife and children to Pyongyang for security reasons. In fact they were among the few black people in North Korea.
Despite recieving great support from China and Russia, Biyogo Nguema could not withstand the sustained military assault by his nephew, which led to to his overthrow. He was arrested and presented before a military tribunal.
The tribunal delivered a harsh verdict committing
President Biyogo Nguema and six of his co-defendants to death and the confiscation of their property. The president recieved the harshest sentence with the tribunal condemning him to death 101 times.
However, one problem arose, after he swore that his ghost would return and take revenge on all those who had taken part in his trial. The Equatorial Guinea soldiers, consequently, refused to shoot him. This resulted in the new military junta, hiring Moroccan troops to carry out the execution.
On taking charge of the government after executing his uncle, Obiang Nguema was keen to potray himself as a progressive leader committed to democracy and the rule of law. He ordered the release of 5,000 prisoners, reestablished freedom of worship as well as the right to fish in the sea which had been reserved to the Russian by his uncle.
But with time, Obiang Nguema's rule became rife with corruption and human rights abuses, albeit not comparable to his uncle's. Even though the country is a wash with oil which has been in production since 1995, it is still mired in poverty and corruption orchestrated by Nguema, his family and cronies. In 2019, Transparency International rated Equatorial Guinea 173rd out of 180 countries on its Corruption Perceptions Index.
It estimated that Nguema Mangue the vice president and the first born son of president Obiang Nguema used his position to amass wealth of more than $300 million. Most of it and other assets have been confiscated by foreign governments after being flagged as proceeds of corruption. This does not include the amount hidden by his father in Swiss accounts.
As one critic said : “The most probable thing is that the oil money will run out without the Guineans ever benefiting.” Despite having one of the highest GDPs per capita in Africa, few people have access to proper education or healthcare, and many houses in the capital still lack drinking water.
There is no doubt that the Mangue family, which originally came from Gabon, has destroyed EquatorialGuinea. Consequently, Obiang Nguema is among African leaders who more deserve to be overthrown because of their brutality, corruption and venality.