New Telegraph

Cameroon has its eyes set on Equatorial Guinea oil-wealth

 

Sam Borak

A country rich in natural resources, Equatorial Guinea is located in the west of continental Africa. In addition, the island of Bioko belongs to the Republic of Equatorial Guinea; the island is located quite far from the continental part of the country. Moreover, the island is closer to Cameroon, which nevertheless has nothing to do with offshore oil production along the Nigerian corridor. Douala may well claim its rights to part of the shelf due to its geographical position, as well as the weakened Malabo regime.

In the early 1990s the situation changed dramatically for Equatorial Guinea, as oil was found in the country.

Equatorial Guinea has huge reserves of offshore oil, the richest in crude oil are the Alba, Zafiro, and Ceiba regions, situated around the Bioko Island. Equatorial Guinea won a lucky ticket and turn from the poorest country with no economic prospects into one of the biggest oil-economies in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The sad irony of the situation is that it takes just one look at the map to realize, that Bioko is located closer to Cameroon than to the continental part of Equatorial Guinea. Such a huge oil deposited would come in handy to the Cameroonian authorities. They will take the opportunity if they have a chance.

Malabo is well aware of the vulnerability of their position and the hungry eyes set on their resources. Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema ordered the border wall be built in 2019 to stop Cameroonians and West Africans from illegally entering the country.

However, the Equatorial Guinea authorities are almost alone in this battle. The political elite, represented by the President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo and his son, who is also the Vice President of the country, is subject to economic sanctions from France and Britain.

The relations between the Republic of Equatorial Guinea and the major Western powers keep sliding down. Recently the United Kingdom has imposed sanctions against Vice-President of Equatorial Guinea over the allegation of corruption.

According to British authorities, the president’s son would have concluded corrupt contracting arrangements and solicited bribes to support his lavish lifestyle. Less than a year ago, in February 2020, a French court handed him a three-year suspended sentence, a 30-million-euro fine and confiscation of his assets in France.

Despite the fact that the country’s GDP is one of the highest, most of the country lives on $1 a day. High levels of poverty and a weakened security sector threaten the rule of Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.

The country’s corrupt security system is rotten from the inside, putting civilians at risk. In turn, the Vice President of the country spends the laundered budget of Equatorial Guinea on expensive trinkets and luxurious vacations with young women.

With about 60% of the country’s residents living below the poverty line, the lavish lifestyle of the President’s heir creates quite an explosive situation, that can be used by well-trained and experienced Cameroonian secret services.

The fall of the Obiang clan is of high convenience to neighboring Cameroon, as it will bring about the opportunity to bite off a piece of the natural resources around the Bioko island. Now when the leadership is weakened due to the age of the father and lack of self-restraint of the son, a coup becomes more and more feasible.

The most interesting part is that Cameroon has no need in seizing the island itself: it will be enough to share it with the Equatorial Guinea side for touristic use. The most valuable part is in the sea and Cameroon will aim to get the oil-reach offshore fields in the first place.

*Borak writes from Cameroon

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