Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Libreville (Agenzia Fides) – While funeral services are held today, June 16, for the President of Gabon, Omar Bongo, who officially passed away on June 8 in Barcelona, several analysts are wondering what geopolitical consequences his death will have on West-Central Africa.
Bongo, in fact, who was in power for 41 years, was the “chief of the African presidents” and incarnated a “certain idea of Africa,” or better yet, of the relationship between Africa and France, in which national and strategic interests were easily blended with private political and business affairs. Beyond all this, however, Bongo was able to interlace a series of relationships throughout all Africa, especially in the West-Central area, which made him an important mediator – perhaps even indispensable – in nearly all the local crises. Over the course of the last 20 years, Bongo had mediated the crises in Angola, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Congo Brazzaville. In the last of these countries, as Gabon is an important oil producer, Bongo played an important role, as he had married the daughter of President Sassou-Nguesso, who curiously enough passed away just weeks before her husband, in a Moroccan clinic.
Bongo's Gabon (behind which was France) had become a bit like the equivalent of what South Africa is to southern Africa and Nigeria is to western Africa and the Gulf of Guinea: countries that play a powerful role in their own region, thanks to a stronger economy and a strong respect from the other countries in the area. In Gabon's case, however, a strong competition had been formed with Cameroon, the other economic power in West-Central Africa, which placed a damper on the workings of the main organizations of collaboration among the countries in the area: the Economic and Monetary Community of Western Africa (CEMAC) and the Council for the Peace and Security of Central Africa. However, this created a political and diplomatic division in the area that did not allow for a full performance from these common organizations. On one side, there was Cameroon, supported by Chad and the Central African Republic, and on the other was Gabon, with Congo Brazzaville and Equatorial Guinea.
With the death of Bongo, will his successor in terms of a point of reference be Cameroon's President Paul Biya? Future developments will decide. In the meantime, the successor of Bongo in leading Gabon will be closely observed. The deceased President had not chosen a successor and until now, the Constitutional procedures in the case of the death of the President have been followed, his functions as President being taken up by the Leader of the Senate, Rose Francine Rogombe. 45 days after the death of Bongo, Gabon will have to vote for his successor. Press sources affirm that the choosing of the strongest candidate will be a decision of the deceased President's family, where there seems to be no lack of candidates to succeed him. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 16/06/2009)
