So Equatorial Guinea was a Spanish colony up until 1968. It is the only Spanish-speaking country in sub-Saharan Africa. All the neighboring countries speak French, and the majority of countries in Africa speak either French or English, right? You have a few that speak Portuguese. But Equatorial Guinea’s the only Spanish-speaking country in sub-Saharan Africa.
Between 1968 and 1979, Equatorial Guinea was under the rule of a brutal dictator, Francisco Macías Nguema, who took over after – immediately after independence, and within a year of being in power had kicked out all the Spanish and other foreign nationals. And within three to five more years of being in power, about a third of the population had fled the country seeking exile in Cameroon, Gabon, Spain and other countries. In 1979, the current president, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo killed his uncle, Francisco Macías, and took over power – 1979.
Today, 33 years later, President Obiang is still in power. President Obiang runs the regime that is characterized by human rights violations, by corruption. When one looks at the list of most corrupt countries from Transparency International rankings, Equatorial Guinea is always top five. When one looks at the list from the Freedom House of countries where there is no freedom, Equatorial Guinea is always in the top five. When one looks at the Committee to Protect Journalists’ list of countries that are closed, where there is no freedom of expression, there is no freedom of the press; Equatorial Guinea is always top five.
So we are talking about a country that is characterized by human rights violations, a country that still tortures prisoners as a way of extracting confessions, a country that despite being the third largest oil-producing nation in Africa, third only to Nigeria and Angola, where the GDP per capita is comparable to that of Japan and France [when measured as GDP Per Capita PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) in current international dollars], 75 percent of the people in that country, in Equatorial Guinea, live on less than a dollar a day. The richest country in Africa per capita-wise, with 75 percent of the population living on less than a dollar a day.
Where does the money go? President Obiang’s son owns a mansion in Malibu, California, a $35 million estate. President Obiang’s son right now, whose name is also Teodoro – there is an arrest warrant issued by the authorities in France for his arrest for money laundering and fraud. They have seized from the property owned and enjoyed by the Obiang family and friends artwork, furniture worth tens of millions of dollars. They have seized 11 luxury sport cars worth millions of dollars. And that’s where the money goes, in living a flamboyant lifestyle outside Equatorial Guinea while people in Equatorial Guinea do not have running water, while people – my nieces and nephew – must fetch water in buckets every morning, study with a kerosene lamp, go to school half-naked, without shoes.
That is the situation in Equatorial Guinea today. There are seven ethnic groups in Equatorial Guinea. The majority ethnic group is about 80 percent of the population, and this is the Fang – F-A-N-G – the Fang people. President Obiang happens to be from the majority ethnic group. Territorially – looking at it geographically rather, Equatorial Guinea can be divided in, say, three sections. One is a continental side, which is on the mainland, on the continent, and then there is the island of Bioko, which is where the capital sits.
The capital of Equatorial Guinea is Malabo, and that sits on Bioko. And then there is a farther island, Annobón, south of the hemisphere, and that is where I’m from. And even though you have these three regions, you still have seven different ethnic groups: one dominant one that, since independent, has controlled political power, economic power and military power. President Obiang has skillfully used the fact that the Fangs are the majority to divide the society in Equatorial Guinea. So while it is true that most people in government today are from one ethnic group, it is not true that the Fangs, for instance, in general, are discriminating against minorities. But what happened, you know, is that even among the people from the Fang ethnic group, you have divisions, and President Obiang has used those divisions and clans to give the perception that the Fang dominate the country.
And right now, unfortunately for us, especially those of us in the diaspora trying to look for a way out of the conundrum that we find ourself, we are, I would say, overemphasizing the ethnic divisions in the country to an extent that it is preventing us from focusing on what is important, you know, which is freedom from a tyrannical government and democracy, a society in which we can all share equally in its wealth, equally in its burdens.
Tutu Alicante is a human rights lawyer from the island of Annobon in Equatorial Guinea. In 1993, Mr. Alicante was in a Roman Catholic seminary, preparing for the priesthood. A group of citizens, among them one of Mr. Alicante’s cousins, organized a peaceful demonstration at the governor’s house calling for respect for human rights and measures to address widespread poverty. In response, government forces arrested and killed a number of the demonstrators and burned Mr. Alicante’s family home to the ground. He left Equatorial Guinea in 1994 to pursue his education abroad.
After obtaining a law degree from the University of Tennessee and a Masters in Law from Columbia University, he worked on legal defense programs for migrant farm workers and as a consultant for a branch of the Open Society Institute promoting legal accountability and transparency in extractive industries.
Tutu Alicante founded and serves as Executive Director of EG Justice, a nonprofit and nongovernmental organization that educates, empowers, and engages a new generation of democracy and human rights advocates at home and abroad. It undertakes grassroots campaigns to reform institutions inside Equatorial Guinea and documents human rights violations, collecting oral and written testimonies inside the country and abroad to hold violators accountable. EG Justice publishes periodic reports and educates the public. EG Justice collaborates with international institutions to bring critical human rights issues to the attention of global policymakers, including the United Nations, the African Union, and other multilateral organizations. It undertakes and supports legal advocacy to hold human rights abusers accountable in local, regional, and international tribunals and works closely with community-based partners to empower them through the litigation process.
Follow Tutu Alicante on Twitter at @TutuAlicante and follow EG Justice on Twitter at @EGJustice
Equatorial Guinea is one of Africa’s smallest countries, with a population of roughly 650,000 people. It is the only independent country on the continent where Spanish is the official language. Extensive oil reserves were discovered in 1996 and have dramatically altered the country’s fortunes. Oil has made Equatorial Guinea the wealthiest country in Africa on a per capita basis, with the World Bank estimating the country’s per capita GDP (Purchasing Power Parity in current international dollars) at over $35,000 – nominally higher than that of France or Japan. However, the country’s resources are distributed very unevenly, with more than 70 percent of the population living below the poverty line.
The area now known as Equatorial Guinea was home to many indigenous tribal groups when it was first discovered and colonized by the Portuguese in 1471. In 1778, Portugal ceded the area to Spain and it became home to many plantations. Immigrants came from other African countries as well as Spain looking for work. Freed slaves also came to the country, creating a mixture of ethnic and cultural groups. Spain ruled the country as a colony until 1968, when it granted Equatorial Guinea independence.
In 1968, Francisco Macias Nguema became the first president of the nation. During his rule, Macias carried out the execution of those who he perceived as a threat to his rule as well as many members of the Bubi ethnic minority. By the end of his time in power more than a third of the population of Equatorial Guinea had either fled the country or had been executed. The nation experienced a massive “brain drain” as Macias specifically targeted intellectuals and those involved in education. Macias also declared himself president for life, closed down some churches, prevented Equatoguineans from leaving the country, and banned things he perceived as “un-African,” including Western medicine.
In 1979, current President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo overthrew and executed his predecessor and uncle, Francisco Macias Nguema, in a bloody military coup. However, Obiang continued many of the policies and practices of his uncle’s regime. The judiciary and parliament are firmly under the control of the president. Obiang’s regime has never held credible elections. Basic freedoms, such as freedom of expression, assembly and conscience are not respected by the regime.
Equatorial Guinea’s oil resources are controlled by Obiang’s supporters and other elites. Corruption is rampant – in 2013, Transparency International ranked Equatorial Guinea 163rd out of 177 countries surveyed.
In its 2014 “Freedom in the World” Report, Freedom House labeled Equatorial Guinea as “not free”. The nation received the worst possible score of seven in political rights, civil liberties, and as its overall freedom rating. Freedom House’s 2014 “Freedom of the Press” Report gave Equatorial Guinea a score of 90, where 0 is the best possible score and 100 is the worst possible score.