Before embarking on the journey to Equatorial Guinea, Malabo as a keynote speaker, as a trainee and beneficiary of the Batch II African Union-Youth Volunteer Corp (AU-YVC), and a West African Youth Representative to chair the “Six Man, Regional Committee” on Africa’s Youths and Sustainable Development as part of the culled Memo already slated for discourse by the Heads of State, during the “AU Heads of State General Assembly Summit”, a program that kicked off on 15th June to end in 3rd July, 2011.
Prior to my departure I have had an unbiased mindset; I thought Malabo was the most peaceful place in Africa undermining the power of the media and other agents of staged manage frenzy propagandas; and the recurring of the “Hired Crowd” probabilities. But from the inside, it is the most notorious place to be; where more than 73.88% of its city’s population are in jail-house. Of this estimate, more than 62.30% are foreigners, 22% are opposition members; while a fragment are those who by the law of the land were locked behind bars for a purely criminal perpetuations.
Malabo is like the City of Tinapa, Cross-River State in Nigeria; which means as small as it is, the whole city is trekable within a time frame of 2hrs at most.
At every point, both civilians who are ‘pro-Obiang’ and the law enforcements virtually knows every members of the “freed” facially; and could identify those who are new among them. Notwithstanding, a situation could arise where the civilian-Malaboans can stop a stranger and interrogate him/her. Since it is recalled that no non-immigrant enters the city without the notice of the customs and other authorities instituted by the Government; vetoed by the President himself, it is a known fact that foreigners are stopped at any point in time and questioned, humiliated and harassed if they so wished.
HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF EQUATORIAL GUINEA:
The current president of Equatorial Guinea is Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. The 1982 constitution of Equatorial Guinea, written following the 1979 deposition of dictator Francisco Macías Nguema and with help from the UN, gives the presidency extensive powers, including naming and dismissing members of the cabinet, making laws by decree, dissolving the Chamber of Representatives, negotiating and ratifying treaties and serving as commander in chief of the armed forces. The Prime Minister, Ignacio Milam Tang is appointed by the President and operates under powers designated by the President.
On Christmas 1975, Macías had 150 alleged coup plotters executed to the sound of a band playing Mary Hopkin’s tune Those Were the Days in a national stadium.
It is estimated that 250,000 people (approximately one-third of the population) were killed or fled into exile during Macías’ reign.
President Obiang overthrew previous dictator Francisco Macías Nguema on 3 August 1979 in a bloody coup d’état. Since August 1979 some 12 real and perceived unsuccessful coup attempts have occurred. The ‘real’ coup attempts were often perpetrated in an attempt by rival elites to seize the state’s economic resources.
THE CLANDESTINE BATTLE OVER THE RESOURCES OF EQUATORIAL GUINEA – M16 VS CIA
Under President Obiang, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, in April 2006, to establish a Social Development Fund in the country, implementing projects in the areas of health, education, women’s affairs and the environment; while the MAIN and the primes of the EHM (Economic Hitmen) continued to play prank with the economic politics of EQ while undermining the very vital benefits of human rights and justice as enshrined in the UN-Universal Human Right laws.
Since 2005, MPRI, a U.S. based international policing consulting company, has worked in Equatorial Guinea to train police forces in appropriate human rights practices. In February 2010, Equatorial Guinea signed a contract with the MPRI subsidiary of the US defense corporation, L3 Communications for coastal surveillance and maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea.
Although President Obiang signed a national anti-torture decree in 2006 to ban all forms of abuse and improper treatment in Equatorial Guinea and commissioned the renovation and modernization of Black Beach prison in 2007 to ensure the humane treatment of prisoners, human rights abuses continue. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International among other non-governmental organizations have documented severe human rights abuses in prisons, including torture, beatings, unexplained deaths and illegal detention.
Under President Obiang, the basic infrastructure of Equatorial Guinea has also improved. Asphalt now covers more than 80% of the national roads and ports and airports are being built across the entire country.
According to a March 2004 BBC profile, politics within the country are currently dominated by tensions between Obiang’s son, Teodorin, and other close relatives with powerful positions in the security forces. The tension may be rooted in power shift arising from the dramatic increase in oil production which has occurred since 1997.
A November 2004 report named Mark Thatcher as a financial backer of a 2004 Equatorial Guinea coup d’état attempt to topple Obiang, organized by Simon Mann. Various accounts also name the United Kingdom’s MI6, the United States’ CIA, and Spain as having been tacit supporters of the coup attempt. Nevertheless, the Amnesty International report released in June 2005 on the ensuing trial of those allegedly involved highlighted the prosecution’s failure to produce conclusive evidence that a coup attempt had actually taken place.
Simon Mann was released from prison on November 3, 2009 for humanitarian reasons. The presidential decree pardoning Mann from prison cites concerns about his physical health and the need for him to receive ongoing care in his home country.
President Obiang was re-elected to serve an additional term in 2009 in an election deemed by the African Union as “in line with electoral law”. The President reappointed Prime Minister Ignacio Milam Tang and installed a new government in Equatorial Guinea on January 12, 2010.
The new government is dedicated to strengthening the “cooperation and friendship” with the Barack Obama administration. During a meeting on the sidelines of the recent United Nations General Assembly, President Obiang urged President Obama to institute a U.S-Africa summit, to strengthen the cooperation between the United States and Africa.
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL – INTENTIONAL OVERSIGHT:
Unfortunately, it is lugubrious to state here that Amnesty International who claimed to be the defenders of justice and human rights have intentionally overlooked the human right violations in Equatorial Guinea, Cameroun and other Francophone/Anglophone Central and East Africa Countries against their neighbouring African brother and sister States.
ANALYSING THE FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN CHALLENGES IN EQUATORIAL GUINEA
It is a complete Irony for a nation that scores -0% in Human right protection to chair the African Union; in fact it is unimaginable that such a place should be proposed to hold an AU Summit of such Africa’s Heads of State’s Summit…This is laughable!
Anybody can question my sources; they are all lying there in the streets and lips of all here in Malabo, as with what I have seen in Malabo, Kyiosi, Bioko and its surrounding; how the number of Nigerians in their prisons has risen to 83.22% of those allowed to walk freely in their streets while our embassy/consulate are adamant and ignore the senseless human right abuse of our nationals in Equatorial; where every night the Malaboans Police, Military and other law enforcement personnel invade foreigners private space and buddle them like criminals for senseless trials and accusation for various baseless offenses from immigration matters to victimizati
on.
THE CAMEROUNIAN ONTOLOGICAL HATRED
There is a special hatred which is pronounced for Ghanaians and Nigerian Nationals , whereas Cameroonians with similar pattern of psychopathology of Hate lives here almost in peace with the Malaboans. The same hate pattern also exist between Nigeria and Cameroun, where several murders and brutality has been recorded and reported to the Nigerian Consulate in Douala and Yaoundé, yet like the mentally retarded, our embassy have always chickened and conspired to aid and albeit Cameroonians and their government in the perpetuation of human right abuse; since they have ignored several reports that got to them on matters of human right violations of the Cameroonians and the Cameroonian Government against Nigerians
I have seen with my own eyes, how can a man – (President Obiang) that claim to be the custodian and Chairman of the African Union (AU) woke up one day and forcefully shipped out his own Nationals; those within the Age Brackets of 15-50years of age to Bioko the nearby island; and left the fragile imbecile generation of those within 55-90years to remain in Malabo. Why, this was to prevent revolution!
Because of his fear for foreign and imported ideologies, his plans was to frustrate the foreigners living there so they cannot protest or be made to support the oppositions against him. Those who oppose him are either going to find themselves in the chopped into pieces and thrown to the pigs for consumption, so that such persons won’t be traced. What about the countless foreigners and Opposition members the Equatorial Guinean policy and coast guards kills every day?
What about the invasion and assassinations going on in Malabo, Kyiosi and Bioko of the younger generation every minutes. It is known that a population of less than 250,000 only less than 20,000 is seen in the streets of Malabo, more than 80,000 people are found in Bioko and Kyiosi…
You may want to ask me where are the remaining ones? I will tell you by equating a mathematically and logical differentials. of the remain 150,000 people, more than 120,000 people plus the foreigners are locked out in jail, another 2000 are in house arrest, another 4000 are closely marked to sign a paper that they can’t leave the confines of Malabo. While roughly 24,000 people Nationals are outside the country predominantly purposeless due to the high delegations set up by the President himself to intimidate and harass his political opponents.
HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION AND RACISM – THE NIGERIAN PERSPECTIVE:
Stupidity is part of the erudite colours of the very intellectually undeveloped, know this! But when the very selected and knowledgeable on the scheme of things are known to challenge the power(s) that be, they are countered with the arsenals of injustice as if they are rebels of good fortune; whereas they are the defenders of the oppressed.
Only few Nigerians understand the workings of Africa; and of the counter-Espionage, counter-Terrorism, Counter-Clandestinism and Counter-Intelligence network of Gaddafi; only the few will understand; but the gullible of which so many Nigerians stand at the front seat are tooth protruded to cast the first stone.
This is a man-Gaddafi who worked not only to make life better for Libyans, but to ensure this Notorious “House of Shame” – ‘The African Union’ is kept intact and polished to the standard of altitude. There was never any base of unity for African Union; it’s a charade!
If you have toured Africa as i have, especially the east and central Africa; you will understand that the leaders of these injustice-prone or brutal country states deserves not to be called a country. In Malabo Equatorial Guinea and Cameroun for instance, there is a high placed “Democratic Dictatorship” of these presidents to their own people, and an unbroken line of hatred for their fellow Africans of neighbouring countries such as Nigeria of the highest order; a hatred worse than racism; a barbaric interrelatedness, what a Shame for Africa and Africans!
Equatorial Guinea is a nation where more than 97% of those between 55-90years of age lives in Malabo the central and hub of economic activities, surrounded by Ocean, an Island of vast recourses, whereas from 15-55years of age were shipped out over night to Bioko; why? To prevent revolution! African Leaders have learnt from the lesions of Northern African revolutionary trends; and its continues to ring on like a bell?
In Malabo, foreigners, exclusive of Americans who mines the oil and does the dirty work are treated like Angels, Equatorial Guineans and other nationals of Africa are treated like Animals, whereas our Nigerian Consulate here behaves like an imbecile saying nothing while Nigerians are thrown into jail for no just cause. Yes No just cause I say, because before you enter into the country, your papers are complete; else no fleas fly into their air, land or water space/zone without their Knowledge. The reason the Mr. President Obiang mandated that every non-immigrant should come by air; yet these immigrants are treated by the custom officers, Police, Military and civilians like slaves; doing everything humanly possible to make Malabo unbearable to stay for foreigners. Whereas Equatorial Guineans lives in Peace and Harmony in other countries. Who is at the receiving end?
The purpose of this essay is to inform the International Community that there is a high level of human right abuses in the economic hub of Equatorial Guinea – Malabo, where the AU-Summit is slated to hold.
If the International Community cannot address these problems of human right violations; except there are oil-ontological interest, else all the known world human right agencies should advocate for full respect of the International Human Right laws as against the perceived niche and discrepancies of the Equatorial Guinean Laws on Human Rights.
As an expert in Human Abuse and Conflict Management, I shall continue to investigate the true nature of things, and relate same to the necessary International Agencies for the protection of Human Rights.
There is a grave act of injustice in Equatorial Guinea under the orders of the Mr. President Obiang, and holding the AU-Summit there is a pure Irony to the Demands of Amnesty International as regards Peace, Justice and human rights protection; and Nigerians most especially are being treated like criminals; and yet the AU-Heads of State summit will be held in the most notorious country-state of Africa with a disposition of “zero tolerance” to respect of human dignity.
… To Be Continued!!!
