Talk:Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo

Untitled
Yeah, this guy is really corrupt. His drained all the countries resources though a US bank Riggs Bank. The Coup d'état allegation may however be true since Mark Thatcher confessed of being aware of the coup. One odd thing is some the guy is sick of the same disease that killed another leech, Mobutu Sese Seko. I also noticed that Margaret Thatcher knew another crook Augusto Pinochet. What a pathetic group


 * I noticed nothing is mentionned about this in the article itself. I don't know the full details about these stories (Mark Thatcher and Riggs Bank), but if someone does it would be appropriate. P-O

Equatorial Guinea is perhaps the only country in the world to have all of its presidents to date declared God.

A bit sarcastic for an encyclopedia entry, isn't it?
 * If it is factually correct, it is noteworthy. I agree that tone seems sarcastic but any way of phrasing the same ridiculous information would probably come across that way by default. The “perhaps@ makes it more sarcastic, but also may be appropriate. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 47.18.244.117 (talk) 14:44, 14 March 2019 (UTC)

Richest man?
According to, Obiang is sub-saharan africa's richest man. Is there any other source that confirms or contradicts this? Ud terrorist 15:22, 2 January 2006 (UTC)

I think we need a better source than your (extremelty interesting) article, I consider it highly unlikely as the total GDP of the country doesn't seem high enough, and, like everywhere, Africa doesn't lack for rich people

Mass Murder
This classification has been removed from the profile and I'm curious to know why? He, indeed, has contributed to major genocide in his country over the past 40 years. It began as a political/ethnic cleansing, started by his predecessor, that evolved into just political cleansing. Nonetheless, he contributed majorly to the demise of more than half of the Bubi population, and many Fang villages/clans. Relir 13:37, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Head of the infamous Black Beach prison
This was removed. Who ever put it there initially, please provide citation.

Graduate of Alma College in Michigan, USA?
Can someone verify whether Obiang Nguema is actually a graduate of Alma College? I have read quite a bit about him, and Wikipedia is the only place that has ever mentioned this item of information. My understanding is that all his education was in Equatorial Guinea and Spain, and that he understands quite a bit of English but does not speak it publicly.

These two items suggest that it's actually Nguema's son Gabriel who attended college in the USA:

http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2005/01/12_400.html

http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/2097/

Marzolian 02:23, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

I have deleted these educational references from the article. Marzolian 08:04, 24 February 2007 (UTC)

Somebody added them back. Why? Marzolian 05:50, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

About where he attended college!
Teodoro Obiang never attended college in the USA. He did get his military training in Spain and some sort of education over there as well. His first persuit of higher education was completed through the UNED (Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia) in law( He was given teh certification). —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 140.247.196.80 (talk) 22:43, 11 March 2007 (UTC).

Condi with "a good friend"
The words "You are a good friend" are exactly what are recorded in the State Dept's notes for that day, and are unambiguously attributed to the Secretary of State. Please do not do Wikipedia's able and alert readers (who are perfectly capable of making their own determination as to whether she meant America's friend, her own personal friend, or both, thank you) a disservice by excising this most interesting, notable of assertions from its deserved, prominent place of exposure in the article. Whiskey Pete 00:10, 17 June 2007 (UTC)

Great! genocide against the Bubi has been removed. What is this ? Is this the policy of Wikipedia ? Showing respect for any living people also means to deny one of the worst crime of the humanity ? That s a shame. What f....ing source ? Anybody knows about the cleansing of Bubis, there is no secret at all. It has been donde for years. Yes, this is not Amnesty, Wikipedia doesn t rate human rights, but a matter of fact is a matter of fact, you cannot remove that. It is a fact.: the Bubis genocide. Very very well known by anybody. I strongly suggest you to put it again and for the source, just open any huamn right site, Amnesty, HR Watch or the african news of the past 10 years and you will find references anywhere.

Uncle & nephew
This article states that Francisco Macías Nguema was not Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo's uncle, and that any statement to the contrary is but a common misconception. I'm well prepared to believe that, but the sources linked to in that regard actually say no such thing (unless I've misread). Most news articles say he was (although that doesn't necessarily mean much), and this site is specific to the point of saying that he's his uncle on his mother's side. If we're going to say they're not actually related, we really do need to provide a source. Aridd (talk) 22:38, 26 January 2008 (UTC)
 * I agree- the two sites linked (CIA and State Dept) that supposedly have recognized that fact say absolutely nothing about it. Unless someone can find a good citation for this information, I think we should remove it from the article- the tone almost makes it sound like original research or opinion, neither of which belong in the article. Rjhatl (talk) 12:21, 13 March 2008 (UTC)
 * A quick look through "Small is Not Always Beautiful" by Max Liniger-Goumaz shows several familial mentions of the two as nephews or cousins (overview, 63). There is a vague mention of Fang "familyhood" on p.12 that might open the door to the idea that the two weren't directly blood relatives but were more loosely related through their ethnic group. Still, I haven't been able to find anything yet that can directly say one way or another that they're related or not. I'm going to remove the section in question from the article until something definite can be found. Rjhatl (talk) 12:46, 13 March 2008 (UTC)
 * A few years ago I read Teodoro Obiang's autobiography, "Mi Vida por Mi Pueblo". In it Teodoro Obiang describes Francisco Macías Nguema as his "uncle", and it's clear that the older man knew the younger. However, Teodoro Obiang clarifies that it is a tradition for people in his tribe to call other older men "uncle" out of respect and affection, even when such a person is not a blood relative. Teodoro Obiang might be correct, and in the absence of other specific evidence, I think it's correct not to state that the two men were related in that way. I will find the book and post information about it.  However, the statement by Teodoro Obiang could be seen as self-serving, in that it distances Teodoro from the man he overthrew. And in general, the flattering portrait in his book doesn't quite match what Wikipedia and every other source says about him. Marzolian (talk) 00:49, 2 July 2008 (UTC)

Surname
Does he bear a Spanish-style surname? which is then shortened in the Spanish fashion?

If not, could the nature of Equato-guinean surnames be clarified in a sentence or two?

Varlaam (talk) 17:56, 5 December 2009 (UTC)


 * (I don't recall writing this ^^^ two years ago.)
 * His wife's name, Constancia Mangue de Obiang, is in the traditional Spanish style, with de followed by her husband's surname.
 * Varlaam (talk) 17:08, 4 October 2011 (UTC)

Photograph and Map on Wall
For the sake of drawing the eye inward onto the page, it was clever to put a mirror image of the photograph so that it looks like the subject is looking to the reader's left. However, with a world map in the background, it is too obviously a mirror image. This rather straightforward photographic trick should only be done against backgrounds that are either neutral or not so obviously apparent.95.209.147.141 (talk) 12:42, 23 August 2010 (UTC)

Where he was born
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo was born in Acoa-Kam, Equatorial Guinea in the south-central region of Mongomo on the mainland of Rio Muni not in Acoakan.

Reasons For Removing the Cannibalism Subheading
Before I removed it from the homepage index of the Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo article, the subheading "Cannibal" began thusly:

This statement's minimally- but properly-formatted inline source linked to a News 24 article quoting "Obiang...political opponent" Severo Moto "on Spanish radio in 2004"  "just devoured a police ­commissioner. I say devoured because this commissioner was buried without the testicles and the brain," Moto said. "Obiang wants me to go back to Guinea ... [so he can] eat my testicles."
 * In similar fashion to Idi Amin, Obiang has purportedly allowed rumors that he is a cannibal to circulate.

The reporter, Mandy Roussaw, continues: "Obiang hasn’t denied the allegations."

That said, it is extremely unlikely that any G20 head of state a claim like that which Roussaw quotes Moto has having made. Roussaw's reporting Obiang's silence regarding Moto's claim definitively qualifies News24 as a questionable source according to Wikipedia's guidelines for Identifying Reliable Sources.


 * Such sources include websites and publications expressing views that are widely acknowledged as extremist, or promotional in nature, or which rely heavily on rumors and personal opinions. Questionable sources are generally unsuitable for citing contentious claims about third parties, which includes claims against institutions, persons living or dead, as well as more ill-defined entities. The proper uses of a questionable source are very limited.

The rest of the "Cannibalism" subheading is a statement that is not about Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo at all; and would be more-relevant on a separate page dealing with ecuatoguinean tribal history or sociopolitical anthropology. However the page has no inline citations to qualify its claim. Thus, I removed this statement as well.

For transparency's sake, I include the second statement in the "Cannibalism" subheading here:


 * Fictional rumors of cannibalism had been used for centuries among the Fang people of Central and West Africa, of whom Obiang is a descendant, to make opponents fear them. Many testimonies of former residents of Equatorial Guinea, before and during the civil unrest, indicate that cannibalism had been applied as a tool of psychological warfare.

To wit -- The Cannibalism subheading was 2 statements: --Ratfinx (talk) 17:57, 4 November 2011 (UTC)
 * 1) Statement 1 was sourced to a definitively unreliable source, as per Wikipedia's guidelines for reliable sources.
 * 2) Statement 2 has no inline citation to validate it.


 * I haven't looked into whether this should be included or not, but I wanted to note that Ratfinx is likely working for Qorvis - a PR firm who may well be employed by Mbasogo. SmartSE (talk) 21:20, 18 December 2011 (UTC)

Length of ruling
Why is he considered the second after Biya, when Biya took power in 1982 and Obiang in 1979? I edited it, or when reverting, please explain. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.79.110.116 (talk) 17:13, 21 May 2022 (UTC)

External links modified
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 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20060515001846/http://www.iasps.org:80/strategic/africawhitepaper.pdf to http://www.iasps.org/strategic/africawhitepaper.pdf
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20070314115025/http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2006/64434.htm to http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2006/64434.htm

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"2017 Equatoguinean coup d'état attempt" listed at Redirects for discussion
An editor has identified a potential problem with the redirect 2017 Equatoguinean coup d& and has thus listed it for discussion. This discussion will occur at Redirects for discussion/Log/2022 February 8 until a consensus is reached, and readers of this page are welcome to contribute to the discussion. signed,Rosguill talk 18:51, 8 February 2022 (UTC)

Is he ”the second-longest consecutively-serving current non-royal national leader in the world”?
If he js ”the second-longest consecutively-serving current non-royal national leader in the world”, as is claimed in the lead, this needs to be sourced. It would also be interesting to know who has served longer. A Coup of Coffee (talk) 19:25, 21 November 2022 (UTC)


 * Thanks, a link to the list of longest-serving state leaders will do, as has been added now. A Coup of Coffee (talk) 01:24, 11 January 2023 (UTC)

Afrique Media TV
From page 33 of this, :

"According to Tutu Alicante, a human rights lawyer and activist from Equatorial Guinea, Afrique Media TV was founded with financial backing from Teodoro Obiang Nguemo, the dictator of that country who has built a notoriously kleptocratic and abusive regime. Obiang, who was praised on state radio in 2003 as being “like God in heaven” with the right “to kill without anyone calling him to account,” is apparently very keen to enhance his international image, spending $70,000 a month for the services of D.C. lobbying firm Qorvis and $1 million a year on advice from Lanny Davis, former special counsel to President Bill Clinton. Obiang therefore funds not only Afrique Media TV but a plethora of other media operations targeting the region, including Afrique 24 and Jeune Afrique. Another outlet that has its offices in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, and lavishes praise on Obiang while also reporting on and promoting every move made by AFRIC is Radio Revolution Panafricaine (or 2RP). It is unclear how long the Obiang regime continued to fund Afrique Media TV, but, as with Jamahiriya TV, there appears to have been a major injection of cash into the broadcaster in 2019. That year, Agence de Press Panafricaine reported that unnamed Russians had taken Afrique Media TV’s operating costs and agreed to provide training and production assistance. Earlier that year, the channel had embarked on a recruitment drive. The change in production value can be seen on-screen."

A bit tangential, but, Afrique Media TV is also connected to Luc Michel, head of the PCN who runs an African disinformation campaign.

Not quite sure in what way this should be edited into the article, but it seems kind of relevant. Daydreamdays2 (talk) 17:57, 16 July 2023 (UTC)