Or as I know it the Fiefdom of Brig Gen Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo [ret], you can see why in the video below.. Oh and Equatorial Guinea doesn't actually lie on the equator.
Recommended reading: The Wonga Coup: Guns, Thugs, and a Ruthless Determination to Create Mayhem in an Oil-Rich Corner of Africa. Adam Roberts
Some brief facts
Area: 28,051 sq km (10,831 sq miles)
Population: 523,051 (2004)
Capital City: Malabo
People: Fang (dominant majority from mainland), Bubi (Bioko island)
Language(s): Spanish (official), French (official), Fang, Bubi, Ibo
Religion(s): Christian [93%], predominantly Roman Catholic, indigenous religions
Currency: CFA Franc (pegged to euro)
Head of State: President Teodoro Obiang N'Guema M'basogo
Prime Minister/Premier: Ricardo Mangue Obama Nfubea
Membership of international groupings/organisations: African Development Bank (AFDB), African Union (AU), Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, United Nations (UN).
GDP: US$8.7bn (2006 est)
GDP growth rate: 5.4% (2006 est)
Despite a per capita GDP (PPP) of more than US$30,000[14] (CIA Factbook $12,900) which is as of 2008 the ninth highest in the world, Equatorial Guinea ranks 121st out of 177 countries on the United Nations Human Development Index.
Major Industries: petroleum, timber, fisheries, natural gas
Major trading partners: US,China, France and Spain
Equatorial Guinea was one of the fastest growing economies in the world in the early years of the millenium due to investments in its recently discovered large reserves of oil and gas. Foreign direct investment inflows reached $US1.86bn in 2005. But an impressive GDP from oil revenue(oil now represents over 90% of exports by value) masks stagnation in the rest of the economy, with timber and agriculture only minor sources of exports.
From various sources
http://www.fco.gov.uk/...
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
http://www.eia.doe.gov/...
https://www.cia.gov/...
Democracy Dictatorship
Brig Gen Mbasogo [ret] is somewhat nicer than his predessor Francisco Macías Nguema who had the 150 or so supposed leaders of a coup executed in a stadium to the music of "Those were the days" sung by Mary Hopkin [no she was not there]. He was eventually executed himself for every crime against humanity known.
"I am your god and teacher. I am the divine way, the torch that lights the dark. There is no god but Ali Soilih," Nguema elevated himself to the status of a deity. In 1978, he changed Equatorial Guinea's motto to read: "There is no other God than Macias Nguema."
More information on these two wonderful human beings can be found:
Mbasago: http://www.dictatorofthemonth.com/...
Nguema: http://www.dictatorofthemonth.com/...
Per Capita revenue.
Basically Equatorial Guinea has one of the highest per capita incomes in Africa from oil, gas and cocoa [fading due to neglect] and most of its people earn about a dollar a day. Mbasago's family and friends get the rest, they have also been caught smuggling drugs in diplomatic bags.
Undeveloped natural resources include titanium, iron ore, manganese, uranium, and alluvial gold so this is one very rich country that is being asset stripped by its dictator and the West. Even the World bank and the IMF pulled out in 1993 due to the levels of obvious corruption.
OK so what is in the news.
Business as usual
afrol News, 28 November - A video of Equatorial Guinea's dictator Teodoro Obiang Nguema dancing and partying at the luxurious birthday celebration of Gabon's President Omar Bongo has been released on Youtube, to the disgust of the country's opposition. Watch the video here.
http://www.afrol.com/...
Apart from that
Detainees kept in police custody in Equatorial Guinea are victims of systematic torture, and prisoners suffer inhuman conditions, an independent UN human rights expert said in a press statement today, blaming the "non-functioning" of the country's judicial system.
http://www.afrol.com/...
Oh help.
It was, as outlined in a series of court cases and breathless news articles, a steamy stew of British upper-crusters concocting a scheme on behalf of a reclusive financier to use private mercenaries to overthrow the dictator of a tiny, mineral-rich African nation for fun and profit — or, in the conspirators’ argot, "a large splodge of wonga."
http://www.nytimes.com/...
Enough already can I have some positive news!
Funnily enough reporting on Equatorial Guinea is everywhere due to its importance oil reserves.
An Malian immigrants view
MALABO, 22 October 2008 (IRIN) - "Oh no, no, in the name of the Lord, Equatorial Guinea is not the country I had dreamt of when I was in Mopti [Mali]," said Coulibaly*, dressed in a black Bob Marley T-shirt, dirty jeans and a pair of tennis shoes that had long lost their white colour..
http://www.irinnews.org/...
EQUATORIAL GUINEA: Poverty rife in Africa’s "Kuwait"
Global Witness US-based policy advisor, Sasha Lezhnev, told IRIN: "Equatorial Guinea is the dictatorship that no one talks about. The government earns billions in oil every year, yet 60 percent of its population lives on less than US$1 a day."
http://www.irinnews.org/...
A Blast from the past
Mark Thatcher son of ex-PM Maragret Thatcher, sigh, you know the same idiot that got lost in the desert trying to find Dakar.
Thatcher fined over 'coup plot'
Sir Mark Thatcher speaks outside court
Sir Mark can now leave South Africa
Sir Mark Thatcher has left South Africa after pleading guilty over his involvement in an alleged coup plot in Equatorial Guinea.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/...
Summary:
I believe you might have got the idea by now.
It's another of those Dictatorships we say nothing about, not the type we bomb.
Some wonder why I say US foreign policy has been in the gutter since WWII, and wonder how I can be so anti- American for so saying. Consistency is what we need not empty rhetoric and pre-emptive invasions.
Travel:
SAFETY AND SECURITY: It is not uncommon for a uniformed member of the security forces to stop motorists on the pretext of minor or nonexistent violations of the local motor vehicle regulations in order to extort small bribes. Visitors are advised not to pay bribes, and to request that the officer provide a citation to be paid at the local court.
Although large public demonstrations are uncommon, U.S. citizens should avoid large crowds, political rallies, and street demonstrations.
I visited when I was working in Cameroon and the 'Police'[taxcollectors] can be most insistent when asking for a bribe, its pretty straightforward always have a ten dollar bill in your passport, that is my advice, anything higher than a ten will cause a stir, fold it in half and put it in the middle.
Footnote:
I needed a straightforward rant after the desolation I felt after writing my Niger diary. Equatorial Guinea has the resources and a small enough population [smaller than that of Vermont] to become the Norway of Africa. In general as is often in Africa everyone was extremely friendly and we laughed a lot, I hope the situation changes soon.