Mood in Gabon gloomy and tense ahead of Africa Cup of Nations kick-off

With just days to go before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s Gabon begin their quest to win the Africa Cup of Nations on home soil, the mood in the host nation remains gloomy.

While the final touches are being put on the four stadiums due to host matches in the January 14-February 5 tournament, the small central African state remains in the midst of a social and political crisis.

On the streets of the capital Libreville, decorated with banners advertising the upcoming continental tournament, workmen have been busy applying a final lick of white paint to the edges of pavements.

In the other host cities of Oyem in the north, Franceville in the south-east and Port-Gentil, the country’s oil capital, final adjustments are still being made around the stadiums.

But the atmosphere on the streets is yet to pick up and the mood around the end-of-year celebrations in Gabon was somewhat moribund at a time when the country is struggling with a severe economic crisis caused by the collapse of the price of oil.

Oil is the main source of revenue in the country of 1.8 million people and with a large number of economic migrants from the likes of Senegal, Burkina Faso and Cameroon.

“Libreville, Port-Gentil, Franceville and Oyem have lost their reputations as energetic, teeming cities of party animals,” stated an opinion piece in the national daily L’Union on Wednesday.