Equatorial Guinea enjoys development and democracy, and has become an example of social stability for African countries, said Jeronimo Osa Osa Ecoro, Secretary General of the ruling Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE), in a recent statement.
Osa Osa made the statement in response to remarks by President Barak Obama at a meeting of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. President Obama had cited the long tenures of some African presidents as hindrances to the development of democracy in Africa.
Osa Osa recalled that African countries are very young democracies, currently undergoing development, and need their own time to evolve.
“We have only been living in the Western fashion for a short time,” he said, “largely due to the abuses that Western peoples exerted on our continent. Therefore, we cannot ask that now, in only fifty years, we live the same, feel the same and be as organized as they are, for example, in the United States. We ask the President of the United States and the rest of the Western world to understand that each country needs its own time and its evolution.”
Referring to Equatorial Guinea, Osa Osa said, “The permanence or longevity in office of H.E. Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has never been because he personally held onto power against popular will, but his election is due to popular vote, and renewed his mandate as a charismatic leader elected by his people.”
He said, “In these 36 years, the people of Equatorial Guinea have gone from being miserable and anonymous Africans, to being able to exercise a sense of pride and dignity that President Obama spoke of in his speech to the African Union.
“We are, therefore, the example that long terms, if properly managed, may offer a period of establishment, peace and stability to a country that is in full development and rising as ours.”