On the western coast of Africa, just south of Cameroon and north of Gabon, lies a small country just 200km in width and 130 km in height, called Equatorial Guinea. With a population of 700,000, the country is one of the smallest countries in Africa, and yet following the discovery of oil reserves in 1996 Equatorial Guinea has become the wealthiest country per capita in continental Africa, although the wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few, while 75% of citizens live below the poverty line.
President Teodoro Obiang is less interested in the poverty of the majority of his citizens than in the construction of Africa’s city of the future. The new city of Oyala has as its centrepiece the new International University of Central Africa. A six-lane highway has been built, as has a championship golf course, and a luxury hotel with 450 rooms, a theatre and a convention centre, is under construction.
According to the city’s plans, up to 200,000 people will live in Oyala when it is finished, including the president. The new city, which is located in a remote forest part of the country, will become the capital of the country. The current capital is Malabo, which is located on the island of Bioko, some distance north of the mainland part of the country, and closer to Cameroon and Nigeria than to mainland Equatorial Guinea.