By Franck Essi

This is not a column — it is a warning.
To all those who believe they are safe because they serve the powerful; to those who think that by obeying the tyrant they will escape the fury of the people; to those in the police, the courts, the administration or the media who suppress the truth in the name of their careers: know this — dictatorship always ends up devouring its own children.

Authoritarian regimes rarely exist by the will of a single despot. They survive through a multitude of small hands that, day after day, oil the machinery of repression. These hands write false reports, forge official documents, spread propaganda, rig elections, and sign arrest warrants. They tell themselves they are “just doing their job,” “following orders,” or “protecting their positions.” But in truth, it is they who keep the edifice of fear standing.

Dictatorship has neither memory nor gratitude. It rewards with fear and punishes with oblivion. One day, those who were useful become inconvenient. Those who thought they were indispensable become guilty. The regime sacrifices them as it sacrifices everything else. And when the wind turns, the former servants realize — too late — that they were never on the side of power, but only on the side of servitude.

History is full of such tragic fates. Once-feared prefects, all-powerful generals, obedient judges, compliant journalists… all silenced, impoverished, or exiled once the wheel turns. No privilege can protect anyone from the curse of having betrayed justice. For those who help to strangle a people always end up crushed under the weight of its anger.

Yes, the people of the oppressed have long memories. They watch. They wait. And when fear collapses, it is not only the dictators they judge, but also those who carried out their orders. History shows that when revolutions rise, they do not always distinguish between the master and the servant.

This warning applies today more than ever. No uniform, no title, no salary, no favor can justify the betrayal of truth and human dignity. To serve dictatorship is to saw off the very branch on which one sits. And when it breaks, it drags down everyone — including those who believed they were on the safe side of fear.

The little hands would do well to reflect while there is still time.
For dictatorship will not save them — and one day, the people will find them.

#WeHaveAChoice
#WeHaveThePower
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