Page 102 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 9

FARMING GOD'S WAY

Letter to Dictatorss

SO YOU WANT TO LIVE FOREVER
Chioma Phillips

Dear Dictators,

So, you want to rule forever? Here’s your handy, “How to be a dictator-for-life” guide.
Tales are told of those, such as yourself, into whose hands, once power is given, want to hold onto it for a
mythical period of human time known as “FOREVER”. Let us imagine that was even possible i.e... to hold
on to power “FOREVER”, without dying, obviously the way most dictators go about it is not sustainable at
all:
1. They put any and all resources under their control, including people;
2. They kill or oppress those who are opposed to their ideas;
3. They steal willy-nilly from public coffers – which they consider to be their personal stockpiles;
4. They squeeze their populations dry to exact taxes from them;
5. They allow their lands and people to be pillaged by their cronies and imperialistic outside forces, all the
while taking a cut in order to turn a blind eye; and
6. They use the police and armed forces to try to protect themselves against possible retaliation (meaning
that they know that they are not well-loved and so they feel the need to fortify their positions) etc.
7. They don’t do much by way of offering basic services to their people such as garbage collection, the
building of roads or health facilities etc.
The list goes on.
At some point, or another, as you may already be aware, someone in the rank and file is likely to get upset
and stage a coup and if they are successful, they will turn to their predecessor’s methods (this may be you)
and only tweak them slightly to suit their style and ambitions. Meanwhile, the people are broke, starving,
dying, fleeing the country to seek asylum elsewhere, plotting the ruler’s downfall or praying for them to

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