In a broad sense democracy and the political process, which underpins it, could be described as dialogue. Dialogue in this connection, encompasses all the dialogical exchanges, pedagogical standpoints and contestation of ideas, view points and alternative choices from which will derive resolution of political disputes, reaching of consensus, striking of compromises and the respect of contrary political values.

To help propel the idea of democracy as dialogue are the key instruments, institutions and processes of democratic governance. The first of this relates to the enabling laws (constitution and other acts of parliament) that ensure that the legitimacy of the democratic process. The second partains to the branches of government-legislative, executive and judiciary that power the engine of democracy.

The third is the act of democracy as a participatory process, and inclusive element and a commonly owned product in the relationship between its key instructions, the leaders and the led, and between the state and civil society.

Yet, the political and democratic process is also defined by its idea and material content. The power of ideas, strategic thought and intellect in a democratic process promotes the philosophical and ideological base of politics, engenders the platforms on which social contract is negotiated and elevates the democratic dialogue to agenda setting issues that are noble and sublime in nature, character and essence.

On the other hand, the maternal content of politics, if it could be called that, relates to the logistic resources and financial instruments without which a political bargain becomes worthless, and the attainment of power becomes improbable. Betrand Russel, the famous British philosopher, recognized the place of idea and material in politics in his Six Indices of Power: financial power (material); intellectual power (idea); raw power (maternal), Media (idea and material); culture (idea); and religion (idea). It is important to stress here that a healthy balance must always be maintained in prioritizing the place of idea and material in a political process. If this balance is lacking, politics will remain either lifeless and inanimate or mundane, banal, uninspiring and prone to conflict. The power of ideas, strategy and intellectual thought infuses politics with its polemical, pedagogical and inspirational logic while the power of material propels the process, especially the electoral contest, to its logical conclusion.

Sadly, the contemporary Nigeria political process, by the sheer monetization of all its essential attributes and the banality that suffuses its essential contexts, is now shorn of great ideas, short on strategic thought and devoid of any meaningful intellectual intervention and content. The sheer fact of having plenty of money, or belonging to a clientele political class or having a network of connections across ethnic and geo-political frontiers guarantees one instant political success not withstanding the paucity of idea or thoughts that such an individual reposes. From this emanates the Nigerian crises of underdevelopment, planlessness, and administrative inertia that currently define much of the nation’s political process.

From this also emanates the fraudulent process of elite induction into Nigerian politics, and atativistic tradition that readily engenders mediocrity and incompetence in a majority of the nation’s commanding heights.

Yet, a peep into Nigeria history demonstrates abundantly that this has not always been the case. The nation’s founding fathers and anti-colonial nationalists – Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Sir Ahmadu Bello – to name but a few, prepared themselves fully, spiritually, intellectually and psychologically, before venturing into politics. They were fully aware of their place in history and the expectation of the Nigerian masses on whose behalf they acted. Their thoughts were not incidental but profound, and their writings not casual sermons, but fully developed philosophies, ideologies and platforms of governance. Without a single gun at their disposal and relying only on their wits, intellect and strategic thought, they exhausted the possibilities of colonialism, deconstructed its inequality and injustice and imploded its lies and half-truths.

Systematically, they began constructing the institutions and instruments that will guarantee post colonial political governance and by 1960 they were ready to take power from the departing colonists on a democratic and constitutional premise.

Each one of them wrote highly challenging works on democratic governance, federalism, national diversities, the nation’s ethnic structure, and set out in detail their position on the idea of Nigeria, the future prospects of the country and the urgent needs, expectations and aspirations of her people. Till date, their works are classics of autobiographical insights into different facets of our national life, and a profound exploration of the burning issues that defined their age and beyond. Even from the parties they formed, one can easily glean the respect they have for the power of ideas, intellectual and strategic in politics. This could be seen in the socialist inclination of Chief Awolowo’s Action Group, the welfarist predilection of Dr. Azikiwe’s National Council of Nigerian Citizens and the conservative identity-based, gradualist philosophy to be seen in Sir. Ahmadu Bello’s Northern Peoples Congress.

Even the smaller parties like the NEPU, the UMBC and the DPNC were characterized by the significant presence of philosophical, ideological, intellectual and strategic thought. This scenario was to be substantially replicated in the Second Republic through a close examination of the ideological and philosophical foundation of the NPN, UPN, NPP, PRP and GNPP which were formed and led by the surviving members of the nationalist class. It is not that these heroes past abhorred the importance of money and materials in the art of politics, but that they successfully subordinated them to the towering power of ideas and intellect as a means of achieving determinate political ends.

Of course, this is not to say that some aspects of contemporary Nigerian political process do not contain a significant degree of ideas, intellectual substance and strategic thought. I stressed this fact in my article titled “The Limits of Political Re-empowerment of the Igbo” in which I gave examples from the pro-democracy struggle led by the Yoruba and their allies which consequented into an inevitable Nigerian presidency of Yoruba extraction in 1999; the strategic planning of the North and their allies which deconstructed and destroyed Obasanjo’s Life-Presidency agenda thought the Third Term project; and the strategic capacity of the South-South in getting the Vice Presidency and ensuring that the region’s problems remain the most important issue in Nigeria today.

We witness this also in the various attempts at crafting a workable Nigeria constitution between 1976 and 1999, and in the formulation of strategic economic, political and social vision of National development in the Vision 2010 and 2020 documents, and most importantly, in the Report of the Political Bureau of 1987, which has been hailed by many commentators as the single most significant political document of the past 37 years in Nigeria.

However, there is no denying the fact that there is a decline in the power of ideas, intellect and strategic thought in the Nigerian political process over the years. I pointed this out with regard to the Igbo in the article I have already referred to. I stressed that the power of strategic thinking, which delivered the nation’s Vice-Presidency and Speakership of the Federal House of Representatives seems to have deserted them, because in more than 26 years since they achieved that feat, they are now content with the Deputy Senate Presidency.

As things stand now, and given the convoluted, conspiracy ridden politics of the ruling PDP, they do not even know when the National Chairmanship of the Party will come to them, six months after the other zones have already comfortably settled into the positions allocated them. It is precisely because of this lack of ideas and strategic thinking among the Igbo elite in the PDP that could have warranted a situation whereby that party’s National Convention has been postponed indefinitely. This situation more than explains the Igbo vulnerability in the current national political set up where their core interests and expectations are crudely brushed aside in favour of the agendas and interests of other more sophisticated geo-political blocks that make up the nation.

In the consideration of the place and role of the power of ideas, intellect and strategic thought in the Nigerian political and democratic process, with specific reference to the Igbo, the current crisis and struggle for power within the ruling PDP which has thus far pushed their interest underground, is a wake up call. Apart from exposing the identity and role of the clientele political class in Igbo land, most of who are to be found in the PDP, as I stressed elsewhere, the Igbo must begin, as urgently as possible, in identifying with any existing progressive political structure that can protect their interests, guarantee their needs, and ensure their relevance in the policy in a process that is powered by high ideas and ideals, profound intellectual illumination and abiding, result oriented strategic thinking.