Africa Cup of Nations is welcome plug for its ruler

It is not unknown for African rulers to raise their hands when it comes to the opportunity of holding a big sports event in their battered countries. It was no surprise then when Equatorial Guinea, a tiny country on the West African coast, came forward in November to host the Africa Cup of Nations. Originally Morocco were designated as tournament hosts. However the Moroccan government wanted the tournament postponed in view of the Ebola epidemic which has caused some 8,000 deaths in parts of West Africa. The government feared the virus could be spread by visiting fans.  However the African Football Confederation CAF insisted the January 17-February 8 tournament should go ahead as planned. As a result the tournament was taken away from the North African kingdom and its team expelled. “If we postpone this event, it will be very deadly for African football,” CAF president Issa Hayatou said. Most people in Africa are mad about football, with even those who hardly have enough food to live following important matches in front of cracking televisions in bars. No country immediately came forward to replace Morocco, so it was relief for CAF to find a willing host in Equatorial Guinea. Its national team now takes part although it had actually been expelled from the tournament in July for fielding an ineligible player during qualifying. The country has the stadiums in place after co-hosting the tournament with Gabon in 2012. The question remains as to whether it is ethically justified in hosting what should be a joyful sports event in a country ravaged by poverty with, according to critics, one of the world’s worst human rights records. President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, who gained power in a military coup in 1979, has ruled longer even than Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe. Human rights organisations accuse 72-year-old Obiang and his close followers of  corruption and repression of opposition. Lisa Misol, a Human Rights Watch expert, said after the CAF decision:  “The situation in the country is as bad - in some ways worse - as during the 2012 tournament. “Anyone who looks past the shiny new construction near the stadiums will see that nearly half of the population lacks clean water and basic sanitation.” The school and health systems are also poor. It is estimated that 20% of the country’s children die before the age of five.  Political opponents are allegedly arrested and tortured and press freedom suppressed. After Nigeria and Angola, the country is the continent’s third largest oil producer. The state press bureau dismisses the international criticism as “absurd accusations”. Obiang needs no promotion because his achievements for the development of the country speak for themselves, a statement said.