People (rightly or wrongly) often look at Democracy in terms of largeness of number and conclude that it is automatically vulnerable to abuse in the hands of fools who, often in their majority, outwit the smart minority and always puncture the inherent goodness associated with Democracy.
There’s no doubt that a buffoon would stop at nothing to turn his estate into a state of buffoonery. The game is not always purely arithmetic in the timetable of power; there are always the religio-geographic pathways to the equation when it comes to the power of impact. For instance, Democracy, Pandemics, and Epidemics are of the same cognate family because they are all related in view of the fact that they all deal with “demos” (people).
While democracy often relies on numbers (majority vote), pandemics/epidemics too are about numbers (spread, infection rates). However, smart and intelligent thinkers who are always in the minority—either during a pandemic or an election—could triumph over the majority on the frontline of strategy, spirituality, ideas, and scientific breakthroughs.
The Yoruba often say, “Kikere labere kere kiise minmin f’adire” (The needle may appear small, but it’s never a token which the biggest cock would swallow without ruffling its throat).
What we are saying is that ideas matter, just as principles matter in the power equation. Let’s still give it to Democracy: quality of thought can outweigh quantity of people. One of my poems says: “The wheel of truth may crawl, but the wheel of truth will never rust.”
New ideas often come from smaller but focused groups. It is up to smart people in the minority to remain focused on the influence they often have. (The essence of leadership is not always on the side of “bossism” which thrives on figures and large spaces, especially not in our digital world where, as citizens of the global market, you are a leader where you are.) They remain persuasive.
There’s a world of difference between impact and result. The majority may rely on huge results, always in big figures, but smart and intelligent thinkers pride their ideas on the impact such ideas have on generations. This is why the thought of a great thinker still holds sway today, and even tomorrow: “Presidency is for a moment (no matter the terms in office); equation is for all times.”
When the concern of the average African politician is thinking about having many terms of office in order to define a legacy, the serious writer, in defining legacy, is concerned about how his or her book will have an impact in the next two centuries. Read Jotham’s Proverb in the Bible and the picture becomes clearer (Judges 9:8-15). The civil rights movement or scientific breakthroughs are instances where impactful change came, and still does come, from dedicated minorities.
When the concern of the average African politician is thinking about having many terms of office in order to define a legacy, the serious writer, in defining legacy, is concerned about how his or her book will have an impact in the next two centuries.
Let me briefly recall what happened in 1998/1999 at Ibadan to buttress my view on why the race to power is not always a game which automatically belongs to the swiftest in terms of numbers.
Alhaji Lam Adesina was the Oyo State Secretary of the Alliance for Democracy (AD). Equally, he wanted to contest the governorship race in the state, and he constituted members of his campaign team and fixed our inauguration at the Institute of Church and Society (ICS), Samonda, Ibadan. (His letter to me as one of the members is right in my archives.)
To cut a long story short, a respectable and respected elderly politician, also a member, raised what appeared to be very valid objections to Alhaji Adesina’s ambition. The atmosphere in the room suddenly became an unguarded moment in which he held ALL of us spellbound. But at that juncture, I remembered the vision God showed me about Lam Adesina in 1991, which I promptly communicated to him. (Read his biography of my authorship: Lam Adesina, The Incorruptible Democrat: 1999).
I barely allowed the dust of his mesmerism to settle when I raised my hand and was called to have the floor. My defense was that Lam Adesina may not then have been a “money bag,” but he was a “borokini” with great ideas that could transform the state, being a follower of Chief Obafemi Awolowo. My contention was that there was a need for the survival of the few men of great ideas to remain focused in perseverance.
The hall roared with applause, and that was how we moved ahead with the inauguration. It is true that in the political portmanteau of Nigeria, the few “borokinis” may have lost out simply because we have lost focus and perseverance while our dogs continue to bark at each other, even as our chickens are snatching at each other’s intestines.
The Biblical Joseph, who interpreted the dream that catapulted many “borokinis” to power, is always forgotten, but “the race is still not always to the swiftest…” and which is why the best candidate may not always win the race.
“It’s not about the ‘game’ but often about the power of ideas, innovation, and influence.”
Just meditating aloud.
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