Gabon is an oil-rich Central African country, where President Ali Bongo Ondimba is seeking a third presidential term on August 26….CONTINUE READING...CONTINUE READING
Here are the five things to know about the country:
1. The Bongos in power for more than 55 years
Since its independence from France in 1960, the country has had only three presidents. Omar Bongo Ondimba governed for more than 41 years until his son Ali was elected following his death in 2009.
Omar Bongo was a pillar of “Françafrique,” a system of political cooptation, networks, and commercial connections between Paris and its former colonies on the continent. His son Ali appeared to distance himself from the newly elected former colonial authority.
Nine more of his offspring have been charged in the French legal system’s probe into “ill-gotten gains,” or real estate built in France with public funds stolen from Gabon.
Pascaline Bongo, Omar Bongo’s daughter, had an affair with reggae legend Bob Marley, whom she invited to perform in Gabon for her father’s birthday. In January 1980, these were the Jamaican singer’s debut gigs in Africa.
2. Oil, wood and manganese
Gabon has one of the highest GDP per capita rates in Africa ($8,820 in 2022), attributable to its oil, lumber, and manganese, as well as a tiny population (2.3 million people).
It was one of the first black gold producers in Sub-Saharan Africa. According to the World Bank, this resource will account for 38.5% of its GDP and 70% of its exports in 2020.
However, the economy, which the authorities are unable to diversify sufficiently, is overly reliant on hydrocarbons, and one in every three people lived below the poverty line at the end of 2022, according to the World Bank.
3. 88% forest
The World Bank describes the 26,8000 square kilometer country, which has 88% of its surface covered by forest, as “a net carbon absorber and a leader in net zero emissions initiatives,” owing to efforts to cut emissions and conserve its huge rainforest.
It has a diverse ecosystem. Its national parks are home to endemic species and iconic creatures such as the forest elephant, gorilla, chimp, leopard, and various pangolin species.
With more than four out of every five Gabonese living in cities, the country has one of the highest urbanization rates on the continent. The economic hub, Libreville, and Port-Gentil alone account for roughly 60% of the population.
4. Psychotropic plant
Iboga, an endemic shrub of Central Africa’s equatorial forest, is utilized in Gabon in the form of bark powder extracted from its root in “bwiti” rituals, a traditional initiation ceremony.
For almost fifty years, the plant was used mostly for medicinal purposes because to the medicinal benefits of ibogaine, one of its active components, which has anti-addictive characteristics in particular.
Ibogaine, on the other hand, is classified as a narcotic in the United States and numerous European countries, including France.
The majority of the ibogaine used in clinics around the world (Costa Rica, Mexico, New Zealand, the Netherlands, etc.) to rehabilitate drug addicts or patients of post-traumatic stress disorder comes from illicit export.
Gabon has created a new structure for trade in its resources, fearing that unlawful harvesting will deplete its resources.
5. Famous footballer
International Gabon’s most famous player is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
After training at AC Milan, the 34-year-old striker has just signed a three-year contract with Olympique de Marseille after previously working for Lille, Monaco, Saint-Étienne, German club Borussia Dortmund, and English Arsenal, among others….CONTINUE READING
