By Ebou Gaye

It is common knowledge that many dictators succeed in being perpetuated in power contrary to the wishes of their opponents and the earnest efforts made to depose them. This phenomenon leads many people to believe or argue that those dictators are intelligent, wise, brave and patriotic citizens who are loved by their compatriots. Hence, the question arises: What factors are responsible for the perpetuation of dictators in power? To answer this question, I would say that the factors responsible for entrenching or keeping dictators in power are many and varied, chief among them the ones enumerated and discussed below:

Self-mystification/Self-glorification

Some dictators behave as quacks or impostors. They always try to give the impression that they have supernatural or magical powers and are endowed with knowledge in everything. They go to the extent of pretending to communicate with demons, or even give them instructions. To portray themselves as courageous or brave, invincible leaders, they always castigate journalists, human rights defenders and people regarded as democrats, telling those who care to listen to their rhetoric that they fear no one on earth and that they don’t care about their critics or what people they term as their detractors or enemies say about them. They sometimes address experts/professionals as if they are giving them lectures in their own domains. They do this with the intention of fooling people into believing that they know better than those experts/professionals in their respective areas of expertise or specialization. Such dictators are so obsessed with titles, and hence accumulate accolades to the extent of subjecting themselves to ridicule globally. They have their statues or photos displayed everywhere, particularly in public places and offices. The motive behind all this is to frighten or scare people away and manifest self-importance or supremacy.

Religious Gimmickry

The use of religion as a political card is common among dictators. The dictators involved in this gimmick try to portray themselves as pious people through their appearance and utterances. In some cases, those dictators fund religious projects and activities or sponsor religious adherents to perform religious rites. They even organize religious ceremonies in some instances.

Use of Threats

To intimidate people as a way of controlling them or making them do or behave as they wish, some dictators resort to issuing threats. Those dictators are fond of making utterances such as: “Anybody who does……will face the consequences.” “I will not allow anybody to ……” “I will not compromise……” “You will be buried six feet deep if you…….” “We will swim in a pool of blood if you dare…….” “Know that you are playing with fire if you……” “I can kill ten thousand people and go and sleep if I have to.” “You will be sacked if you…..” “Don’t expect development if you don’t vote for me.”

Persecution

Persecution is a very common tool used by dictators to stifle dissent or make people subdue. This includes state sponsored terrorism in the form of arson attacks on media houses, abduction, torture, arbitrary arrest, illegal detention or incarceration, assassination, forcing people to drink intoxicating, hallucinogenic or poisonous concoctions with the silly belief that they are witches/wizards, and the like. Dismissing public servants at random and bringing flimsy charges against opponents or perceived enemies also constitute political persecution.

Personalization/Monopolization of Public Properties

Personalizing or monopolizing public properties facilitates the perpetuation of dictators in power, as it allows them to control their people. Thus, there is very little or no distinction between state properties and the properties of the leader in most dictatorial states. The leader is synonymous with the state. In other words, the leader is the state and the state is the leader. The leader uses state properties/resources according to his whims and caprices. He overshadows the government, and that leads to a situation where whatever good the government does is attributed to him as a person. It is the leader who finances government projects, sponsors state events, donates vehicles, equipment and materials to government institutions, gives scholarships to students, and supports the poor and the needy. The list is interminable. The state media is transformed into a propaganda tool for the leader. It is always used to glorify or mystify the leader and demonize or defame members of the opposition who are never given the opportunity to defend themselves or refute the blistering criticism launched against them on daily basis, let alone allowed to use it for propaganda purposes.

Favouritism

Dictators habitually remunerate those they believe are loyal to them and always ready to carry out their instructions without hesitation or eagerly do the dirty job for them. The incentives dictators use in this regard can take the form of appointment or promotion to high, prestigious positions or ranks, sponsorship for further education or training, pay rise or salary increase, etc. Luxury houses or vehicles are also used as incentives. Most people in this category serve as willing collaborators for the simple reason that they know they are unqualified to man such positions of responsibility and enjoy the privileges associated with them under normal circumstances by virtue of their low educational/professional level or poor training.

Religious/Professional/Intellectual Dishonesty

It is a pity that some religious leaders, professionals and people who are regarded as intellectuals wittingly play crucial roles in strengthening the hands of the devils, disregarding the fact that national interest supersedes personal or group interest. These people are blinded by their lust for material resources, prestige or status, for which reason they reduce themselves to tools of dictators. The religious leaders involved in this dirty game would not mind accompanying a dictator during political campaigns, making citations from the Holy Scriptures in an attempt to repair his battered image, or serving as errand boys for him. They always heap praises on the dictator or go the extra mile of bestowing religious titles on him, despite their full cognizance of his gross, blatant violations of the teachings of their religion. Some professionals and people regarded as intellectuals use their expertise or knowledge to help dictators to control state properties/resources, defraud their nations, suppress their people or frame, incriminate or eliminate innocent citizens perceived as enemies. They also shamelessly try to justify or defend the blunders, misdeeds or wrong doings of dictators. Thus, it is not the least surprising to see the constitution amended in favour of the leader every now and then in countries ruled by dictators. Nor is it a surprise to see the proliferation of letters, poems, or even voluminous books singing the praises of the leader. These puppets, sycophants and opportunists are more dangerous and worse than the dictators they help to eternize their stay in power, one can say courageously- and rightly for that matter. These dupes are undesirable elements. Through their nefarious, obnoxious acts, they totally betray the trust of the masses who expect them to serve as role models or use their knowledge or expertise to render serves in the interest of the general public. One disgusting aspect of the issue is that some of those involved in this filthy game have the guts to say plainly that they serve dictators as marionettes in high positions so as to enrich their profiles. What a preposterous argument! Enriching their CVs to the detriment of the masses! Where is decency? What about integrity and sincerity? Are those opportunists oblivious to the importance of these virtues and the devastating effects of serving the interest of a dictator at the expense of public interest?

It should be borne in mind that dictators have no permanent friends or enemies but permanent interest. This being the case, they are always ready to bulldoze anybody they see as a threat to their existence or political interest, and never hesitate to weed out those who have outlived their usefulness to them, even their closest allies or associates. Hence, anybody can fall from grace to grass or vice versa at any time under a dictator. Those they treat as favourites and praise highly can be ejected all of a sudden and subjected to all sorts of brutalization or humiliation. By the same token, arch-enemies or arch-critics can be taken on board suddenly and treated as saints to the bewilderment of those who do not understand how dictators operate. Hence, it is not anomalous to see people being recycled in a dictatorship. A dictator can discard an ally or associate and level very serious allegations against him, only to take a u-turn and recall him when he desperately needs his services. Dictators also liquidate or eliminate those who run dirty errands or do dirty jobs for them and those who know about their dirty deals or misdeeds. They do this to efface traces of evidence. This is exemplified by the innumerable deaths and disappearances under mysterious circumstances characterizing dictatorships.

Thus, those enjoying the favour of dictators and serving their interest should watch. There is no guarantee that they will not fall victim like their predecessors or fallen colleagues one day. It is also worth noting that those known for defending the interest of a dictator find it extremely hard to be accepted by members of society when they are dumped by the dictator, no matter how much they try to wash themselves or erase the stigma. They are viewed as insincere, disgruntled people or hypocrites when they bad-mouth or speak ill of their former boss whom they used to treat as a demigod or defend publicly. To expose those folks as disingenuous characters, some of their compatriots remind them of their past utterances and acts in favour of the dictator whenever they open their mouths or put pen to paper. This is particularly the case with self-proclaimed intellectuals who have, at one time, taken pains to defend or serve the interest of a dictator. This explains why most people choose to keep a very low profile after having been given the boot by a dictator whose interest they have defended blindly.

To those who advance arguments in favour of dictators, I respond thus: Dictators are neither intelligent nor wise. Their acts backfire sooner or later, leading to their downfall and disgrace. Dictators dig their own graves through their childish, irresponsible utterances and wicked, despicable acts. We are all living witnesses to the tragic, wretched and miserable end of powerful dictators. Dictatorship is tantamount to madness. How can one brutalize his compatriots for his selfish interest and expect comfortable life on earth and happy, dignified end? Brutalizing one’s compatriots for personal interest defies intelligence and wisdom. Any dictator who believes he can brutalize his people continuously and get away with it is fooling himself. He is bound to perish the same way he makes people perish. As a man sows shall he reap! Dictators are not brave. Nor do they have supernatural or magical powers as they want to make people believe. They are mere mortals and big cowards! If they are brave or have supernatural powers, why do they need tight security or escort? Why do they kill people secretly and deny it? Why do they back down or flee for their lives when the going gets tough? Their self-proclaimed bravery is grounded on the presence of guards. Simple logic! Without guards, they would not dare to oppress or offend people. This is evinced by the fact that those dictators who portray themselves as brave leaders were not known for bravery before they came to power. Dictators are insincere, unpatriotic citizens. They are immeasurably greedy and selfish. Even if they have succeeded in bringing some development as they and their defenders argue ardently, that does not give them licence to kill people or deny them freedom and liberty which are fundamental, god-given rights. No amount of development can be equated with human life, freedom and liberty. After all, the money spent to realize what they refer to as development comes from state coffers, not from the pockets of dictators. Besides, it is an open secret that dictators who claim to be development-oriented and patriotic plunder quite a lot of money which they squander or use to take care of their families. Thus, it can rightly be stated that their acts are geared more towards satisfying their insatiable desire for riches, catering for the needs of their families or defending their selfish political interest than developing their countries, even if some of the acts are beneficial to people in some cases. In summary, dictators care much more for themselves and their families than they care for their people and countries. Otherwise, why would they brutalize or kill people as a means of clinging onto power while endeavouring to provide security and high quality, luxurious life for themselves and their families? One who monstrously brutalizes or kills his compatriots to consolidate his power cannot rightly be qualified as a patriotic citizen. He is a sadist and a brute! Pure! It is sheer gullibility to believe the contrary. Dictators are not loved by their people, for human beings want freedom and liberty by their nature. The support dictators enjoy results from fear and opportunism, not from love. This is substantiated by the fact that people rejoice or jubilate massively, tearing the photos of dictators or pulling down their statues when they are ousted. Hence, it is crystal clear that dictators are a nuisance and a menace. Down with dictatorship! Good riddance to dictators!