I’ve never given up and it has never occurred to me to quit the presidency. That’s something in which we, the Gabonese people, can take pride. It was also important that our constitutionally governed institutions keep functioning, and they held strong. Their support gave me strength and that helped me recover more quickly than the doctors predicted. They have been wonderful and I couldn’t leave them in the lurch. But the vast majority of people supported me. A few people thought it was their turn to take the reins.
That incident only concerned a microcosm of people. I have to admit that I went through some difficult times.ĭuring your recovery, your power wavered and a clan war broke out among those close to you. This is something I work at each day, on top of my duties as head of state. I still have a few steps ahead of me before I can get there.
#Operation bongo 2 full
I’m looking forward to recovering my full health and regaining my natural speech pattern. That said, what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger – and boosts your determination. I’m much more careful now about my health.
I’ve even stepped up my work rhythm in an effort to achieve my long-standing goal, which is that the Gabonese people want for nothing and that the country continues its development trajectory.Ĭertainly. Lastly, I want to thank my family, especially my wife and my children, for remaining by my side.Īll of that is behind me now, so I’m firmly focused on exercising my duties as head of state. Their support gave me a great deal of strength. I also want to thank the Gabonese people, as their thoughts and prayers helped me get through this ordeal. How are you feeling now?Īli Bongo: Thanks be to God, I’m doing well, and I’d like to repeat my gratitude to the authorities in Saudi Arabia and Morocco for their warm, brotherly hospitality. You suffered a serious stroke in Saudi Arabia in October 2018. After running out of questions, we are the ones who wrapped up the interview: he would have gladly continued. If Ali Bongo has come this far in his recovery, it is due to hundreds of hours of physical and speech therapy, as well as his adoption of healthier habits (he is a former food and cigar lover).Īli Bongo knows his story is a miracle, that if his stroke had occurred in Libreville or Chad – the country he was slated to visit the day after his incapacitation – he would likely no longer be with us, and the experience has changed him. He uses a walking stick to get around, moving at his own pace, which is not as fast as he used to when playing football with his family on Sunday nights. When speaking about technical matters, he sometimes took a while to find his words, but physically speaking, he has regained his motor skills and the full use of his limbs – notably on his right side – which he had long battled to recover the use of, though his leg still has a mind of its own. His speech sounded normal, though it is perhaps less smooth than before his stroke. Cheerful and relaxed, not to mention physically transformed – he has shed more than 40kg since his health ordeal – the President set his usual reservations about such interviews aside, humouring us during the more than hour-long back-and-forth. We were also eager to discuss all the headlines that have been splashed across Gabon since Ali Bongo’s return: the purge of his inner circle, including the dramatic ouster of his all-powerful chief of staff Brice Laccruche Alihanga the revolving door of cabinets and prime ministers the rise to power of his eldest son Noureddin Bongo Valentin anti-corruption efforts the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the authorities’ reform strategy.Īli Bongo hosted us on the morning of 16 March 2021 in the ambassadors’ room at his official residence, the Palais du Bord de Mer. We had, given the time that had passed since his illness, no shortage of questions on the true state of his health and his capacity to lead the country: how he was able to gradually put himself back together and the alarming sequence of events that went down during his recovery when his power wavered and settling of scores was rampant in his own camp.
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