Equatorial Guinea: For the love of oil

by: D. Pandian

One’s first association with the term petro-politics is usually the geographical region of the Middle East. While the international politics since the 1970s has proven this to be a proper association, the drive to decrease American reliance on Middle Eastern oil might lead to the reformation of this association. Due to recent discoveries of West African oil reserves, 15% of American oil exports now come from this region of the world. Yet, while major oil-consuming states may be extracting themselves from the political cauldron of the Middle East, they might be jumping into another pot through cultivation of relationships with certain West African rulers.

President Teodora Obiang Nguema Mbasogo ("Obiang") rules over the small West African state of Equatorial Guinea. Obiang came into power on October 10, 1979, and true to his title, "President for Life," has held the position ever since. He attained this position after leading a coup against his uncle, Francisco Macias Nguema, an infamous dictator whose brutality spurred the exodus of more than one-third of the country’s population. Despite Obiang’s role in ending his uncle’s brutal regime, it must be noted that Obiang held key leadership positions in the Army that carried out his uncle’s ordered.

Nearly half of all children under the age of five are malnourished in Equatorial Guinea, and even the major cities of the country lack clean water and basic sanitation. However, the government’s inability to deal with rampant poverty is not a product of financial strain. The discovery of oil and natural gas in Equatorial Guinea in 1995 has led to the county becoming one of the wealthiest in Africa. Oil earnings in the county are at $3 billion a year [1], enough to give this country with a population of a little more than half million people the second highest income per head in the world. However, Obiang keeps a tight hold on the finances of the state. He recently announced that he would be taking full control of the national treasury to prevent civil servants from being tempted to engage in corrupt practices. However, the many expensive properties and luxury items owned by Obiang and his family members, lends to the conclusion that corrupt use of the national treasury was furthered by this manuever.  [2].

Obiang heads the one major political party of the country. Other political parties do exist; however, members of other parties are frequently jailed and subject to government harassment.  In recent elections, Obiang has been voted into office many times by near unanimous vote, however private accounts by locals reveal that this is more the result of fear of Obiang rather than confidence in his abilities as a ruler. When talking about the many coups and attempts at killing Obiang, his more vocal opposition voice say that these attempts were staged to justify Obiang further tightening his control over the country. It is clear that Obiang relies on intimidation to maintain power; in 2003, a state radio station announced that Obiang is "the God of Equatorial Guinea" and that he now enjoyed the right to "decide to kill without having to give anyone an account and without going to hell."  [3].

In spite of his corrupt rule, Condoleezza Rice herself has referred to Obiang as a friend of the United States, no doubt a statement motivated by the favorable terms and profit sharing arrangements that the government of Equatorial Guinea permits to US oil companies. It is a disheartening that the chosen means of reducing American dependence on Middle Eastern oil involves the cultivation of relationship with a dictator such as Obiang.

Footnotes:

[1] Steve Bloomfield, "Teodoro Obiang Nguema: A brutal, bizarre jailer," The Independent.

[2]  "When he wants to travel, the president has a choice of six personal planes, the most recent of which has a king-size bed and a bathroom with gold-plated taps. Destinations include the mansion in Maryland or the holiday home in Cape Town. [H]is son, Teodorin, has managed to build up an impressive fleet of Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Bentley, despite claiming to earn an official salary of only £30,000 a year." (excerpted from Steve Bloomfield, "Teodoro Obiang Nguema: A brutal, bizarre jailer," The Independent.)

[3] Teodoro Obian Nguema Mbasogo, March 2005, DictatorOfTheMonth.com.

Sources Used:

Peter Maas, "A Touch of Crude," MotherJones.com, January/February 2005, available at http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2005/01/12_400.html.

Steve Bloomfield, "Teodoro Obiang Nguema: A brutal, bizarre jailer," Independent, Oct. 5, 1007, available at http://news.independent.co.uk/people/profiles/article2536777.ece.

Teodoro Obian Nguema Mbasogo, March 2005, DictatorOfTheMonth.com, available at http://www.dictatorofthemonth.com/Obiang/Mar2005ObiangEN.htm.

David Wallechinsky, Who is the World’s Worst Dictator?, Feb. 11, 2007, Parade, available at http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2007/edition_02-11-2007/Dictators.

Luisa Kroll, "Fortunes of Kings, Queens And Dictators," Forbes.com, May 5, 2006, available at http://www.forbes.com/2006/05/04/rich-kings-dictators_cz_lk_0504royals.html.