Francisco Macias Nguema exacted an extractive reign of terror over Equatorial Guinea. Economically F.M. Nguema was a disaster, a true enemy of creative destruction: "[Nguema] was distinctly uneasy around educated people. Before long, he had killed everyone who wore spectacles, a sure sign, in his peculiar opinion, of superior educational accomplishment, and it was dangerous for any Guinean to own so much as a page of printed matter." Acemoglu and Robinson explain the natural tendency of extractive institutions to stifle creative destruction is a major reason growth under extractive institutions is not only rare, but impossible to sustain. As a nation rich in resources, that owes 90% of its GNP to foreign aid, Equatorial Guinea certainly exemplifies this claim.
Additionally, he was infamous for reintroducing forced labor and executing thousands, among much else, it was no surprise his reign ended with a coup. Acemoglu and Robinson would argue that it's also unsurprising Francisco Macias Nguema's successor (his nephew Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo) yet another leader supporting very similar, very extractive, political and economic institutions.
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