Africa 2000

Equatorial Guinea

Welcome to the ‘Kuwait of Africa’

History

The age old saying; every cloud has a silver lining, could not apply more to the small nation profiled in this 17th edition of Africa 2000. The Republic of Equatorial Guinea, among the least known backwaters of darkest Africa, is today the luckiest country on the continent.
Vast reserves of high grade crude oil were discovered in the mid 1990’s in the Gulf of Guinea. Following a maritime border disagreement with giants Nigeria and also Cameroon over exploitative rights to the area, Equatorial Guinea joined the ranks of oil rich nations. In fact, so large are the nation’s reserves of this black gold and so small is its population that Equatorial Guinea has been nicknamed ‘the Kuwait of Africa.’ The people of this nation are enjoying very high standards of life. The following table will help to illustrate exactly how good Ecuatorians have it.
It is worth noting that prior to the discovery of oil, Equatorial Guinea did not have an economy to speak of and per capita income was less than 300 dollars a year.
Equatorial Guinea was one of only two Spanish colonies in Africa, along with the former Spanish Sahara (today’s struggling Saharawi Republic). Spanish colonial rule was arguably the most brutal form of colonialism – as records of the decimation of native inhabitants of South and Central America will attest.
The area was first ‘discovered’ to Europeans by the intrepid, sea-faring Portuguese who had christened Bioko island, Fernando Po, after one of their famed navigators.
Spain granted full independence in 1968 but barely a year later, war broke out between geographically separate Bioko Island (with only 10% of the land area) and the mainland enclave of Rio-Muni. Following the riots and civic disorder, a mainlander, Masie Nguema Biyogo, assumed power in 1972 and was pronounced president for life.
Masie is today remembered as among the most brutal dictators on a continent which had quite a few despots. Equatorial Guinea’s plantation economy disintegrated, resident and naturalized Europeans fled en-masse and the indigenous elite emigrated to Spain.
The meltdown led to a military coup in 1979 by current President Teodoro Obiang – a reprieve from Masie’s excesses but nevertheless, still a tyrant who has since assumed power, filled top government positions with his family members and annulled no less than three elections in 1993, 1996 and 2002, and has quelched all opposition.
Equatorial Guinea has been plucked from obscurity by oil wealth – the state has mellowed to its citizens. The nation has been earning on average, over 100 million dollars a day for the last five years. There is plenty of wealth to go around – everybody – even the opposition – is happy and Obiang (Africa’s second longest serving ruler) is today a benevolent elder statesman who enjoys providing 550,000 subjects with all the amenities of a modern life.

Daughters of the Sun

Piruchi Apo Botupa and Paloma Loribo Apo, Daughters of the Sun, ‘Hijas del Sol’, are a good example of the young generation of African musicians and artists living abroad, as their work reflects established tradition, modern city-life and the experience of exile. Their lyrics put traditional ritual a-cappella songs in the Bubi language together with Spanish texts. The musical spectrum ranges from West African rhythms to Caribbean grooves and contemporary forms of playing like makossa and soukous.
Though they left their homeland, Equatorial Guinea, in 1993, the ‘Hijas del Sol’, Piruchi Apo Botupa and Paloma Loribo Apo, are keen to preserve the traditions of their people. These are the Bubis, a Bantu tribe, which for more than 2000 years has been living on the island Bioko. The Bubis are famous for not only their rich musical tradition but also for their opulent body-painting and tattooing. In the course of colonisation and the introduction of Spanish as the school and official language, the Bubi traditions have been pushed more and more into the background.The Daughters of the Sun, ‘Hijas del Sol’, consciously oppose this process but take up more than a conservative stance. In the sense of the word ‘tradition’ they develop the songs and rites of their people, put them into a new musical framework and deal in their lyrics with the problems of alienation and exile. Their first CD, produced in 1995, was called ‘Sibéba’, a word which, in the tradition of the Bubis, designates a paradisial place of salvation for the very best. At times the duo itself has appeared under the name ‘Sibéba’.
The music of the ‘Hijas del Sol’ is thus accessible and at times infectious without just flowing into the Afro-pop mainstream. A special element is two-voice song, in which Piruchi Apo Botupa and Paloma Loribo Apo have a joint sound such as can be achieved only through the deep understanding of growing up together and having close family ties. This finds its perfect expression in their a-cappella pieces. They also have arrangements with acoustic guitars, violins and sparingly used synthesisers as well as a wide range of percussion instruments both from West Africa and Afro-Cuba. Hence echoes of reggae or of makossa and soukous are interwoven with traditional call and response patterns from the Bubi-tradition.
Piruchi Apo Botupa and Paloma Loribo Apo are aunt and niece. They were born near Malabo, the capital of the island Bioko, belonging to Equatorial Guinea, the only land in Africa with Spanish as the official language. They began singing and performing together in their hometown and called themselves ‘Hijas del Sol’ the Daughters of the Sun. In 1993 they both moved to Spain, where they have since been living and working. Since 1995 they have jointly been issuing CDs which have sprung to attention through the world music charts. Their fourth album ‘Pasaporte Mundial’ appeared in 2001.

Facts and Figures

Location-Bioko Island, off West Africa coast in Gulf of Guinea and Rio Muni on mainland, Gabon on South, Cameroon on East and North
Area = 21,051sq.km
Geography-Bioko Island consists of two volcanic mountains and a connecting valley, Rio Muni enclave is 90% of Eq-Guinea’s area, has plains and low hills behind
Population-540,109
Distribution - 48.1 % urban
Ethnic Groups-Fang 83%, Bubi 10%, others 7%
Languages –Spanish, French (both official), Fang, Bubi, Pidgin English, Portuguese, Creole, Ibo
Religions – Nominally Christian and predominately Roman Catholic, pagan practices
Capital City – Malabo, pop-96,000
Government Type – Republic
Head of State-President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasago, since 1979
Head of Government – Prime Minister Ricardo Mangue Obama Nfubea, since 1979
Currency – CFA Franc (XAF) 512.47=$1 USD.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – $25.7 bln
Economy – Oil, fishing, lumber, natural gas, coffee, rice, cassava, bananas
Per Capita GDP -$ 50,200
Literacy – 87%
Life Expectancy – 48.0 male, 51.1 female
HIV Rate – 3.2 %
Telephones – 10,000 lines
Radios – 429 per 1000
TV sets – 116 per 1,000
Daily Newspaper Circulation – 4.6 per 1000
Internet – 5,000 users

(Facts and figures are the latest avilable at time of publication and may not necessarily be the most accurate.)

Zema Lasta's piorneer tunes sing out!

Most people know him as a drummer on TV. Hunante however, says he has a number of talents and proficiencies to be labeled with. He is a composer, producer and instrument player.
Zema Lasta’s is one of the most well known youth bands currently.
This band has now released the first ever one man produced album through its band leader, Hunante Mulu.
Hunante, who graduated from the Yared Music School on the Viola, wasn’t advised by his parents to be a musician though they didn’t discourage him.
“It was when I joined Yared Music School to test myself I scored very good grades and realized that I have the capacity to be a very good musician .That was my turning point”, he says.
When he was a fourth year student, he developed an interest to form a band some eight years ago and named it Zema Lasta’s. They have performed at different venues such as Hilton, Sheraton and other clubs.
“Since I opened my own studio, I have been able to produce the albums of over 10 singers and singles for 25 singers”
According to him, the newly released album is very peculiar in that it is a one man album.
“Producing a collection album by a single composer is a very difficult thing to do. It is me that collects the lyrics, selects the melody, the singer and does the arrangement. This is the first in our country and it gives the opportunity for all of us to produce a smart output.” Hunante added.
This album titled Zema Lasta’s Yeekrenal Gena, aims to pass the message that he plans to release two other albums for the millennium, one of which is completely for and by veteran singers, has managed to gather the attention and market.
The album made public by Electra Music Shop, took in over 300,000 Birr and participated 10 singers. Crew members of the album will soon make a national and international tour for a stage show.
“What I plan to do in the future is to make productions that have edutainment value. I will be producing songs that protect our culture and disregard unhealthy custom My future productions would entertain burning issues such as HIV/AIDS, Poverty, Development and fighting bad traditional practices. We sholdn’t shan’t use music for the sake of expressing love and the issues; it rather also is a means of communication of educational and informative matters. To comprehend this I require the collaboration of everyone”, he told Capital.
Hitting the radio stations and music shops of Addis his new production which includes songs like former La Fontene member, Berhanu Tezera featuring Tokechaw, Yambule brought him much fame and recognition.
What Hunante did actually goes beyond this and includes other tasks; this should be developed by other local composers and arrangers, thus quenching the ever growing interest of the audience.

Filmmaker to open academy

Ethiopian filmmaker Abraham Haile, is to build a film institvte to be called Blue Nile Film and Television Academy in Addis Ababa, he told Capital.
Abraham said that the academy will start operations in October 2007 with an outlay of 1.4 million birr.
“Opening this academy has been on my mind for nine years. What we concentrate is on bringing out qualified and professional persons by taking 25-30 students every year with the main requirements being talent and interest.” He said.
The academy will be teaching Camera, Lighting, Editing, Production and Script writing.
Abraham Haile has also received an award from a foundation linked to the Rotterdam Film Festival, the Hubert Bals Fund, in the form of 10.000 euro to start the Blue Nile Film Academy in Ethiopia.
“Our selection committee has read the project of Mr Abraham Haile with much enthusiasm and we sincerely hope that this support will contribute to the realisation of the project.” the foundation said in its statement.
The objectives of the Abraham Haile Film Academy are to provide high quality filmmaking training for young Ethiopians, thus contributing to fill the gap of knowledge in the Ethiopian film industry. The school also wants to enable filmmakers to effectively use film as an instrument to express and communicate the Ethiopian culture, history and day to day life for the Ethiopian and international audience. Furthermore, the academy wants to set an example so that Ethiopians or non Ethiopians invest in film education.
The foundation had received about 330 applications, out of which 31 have been selected.
The key success factors of the film school are: the growing demand for quality filmmaking training the ability of the school to provide state of the art training in various field of filmmaking by mobilising qualified trainers and modern training equipments sustainable market for locally produced films and television programmes.
A Director of Photography Abraham Haile Biru was born in Ethiopia and graduated from The Netherlands Film and Television Academy. His latest movie is’ Dry Season. won the Special Jury Award Venice Film Festival 2006 and Fespaco Best Cinematographer 2007. Abraham also won The Lions Award, Rotterdam 2007.