Demanding a Presidents's Birth Certificate or Is Gabon's Present Actually a Nigerian?

People are contesting the authenticity of the birth certificate of a sitting president; this time, however, it is not in the United States but in the small, oil-rich African country of Gabon. In fact, the nationality of the president, Ali Bongo, was questioned by a recent book by the controversial French journalist, Pierre Pean, that claimed that the president is actually a Nigerian who was adopted by the former president of Gabon, Omar Bongo. The book claimed the president presented a false birth certificate in order to qualify for the presidential elections and that some of the president's diplomas are also fake. This has infuriated many Gabonese who now believe that they are being ruled by a foreigner. It should be noted that the politics of nationality is not new in Africa. It is a common theme in contemporary African politics.

However, instead of providing the offending documents to address the situation, as President Barack Obama did in the United States even though it did not satisfy his critics, President Ali Bongo has assaulted protesters, leading to one death. Now protesters are saying they want him out. Given that he is heir to his father, Omar Bongo, some protesters have conflated his rule with that of his father, charging that they have been in power for about half a century and that should be enough. They want him out. This is a situation to watch carefully. We might be dealing with another Burkina Faso here, where the president was driven from power just this year.