Lagos — Alexis de Tocqueville's seminal book, "Democracy in America", remains the best primer on how democracy works in the USA.

If a sequel to the book were to be written today, some space would have to be devoted to the fascinating perspectives in Barrack Hussein Obama's two books, one a memoir "Dreams from my father" (1995 and 2004); and the other, a political testament: "The audacity of hope.

Thoughts on reclaiming the American dream" (2006). The recurrence of the word "dream" in the two titles accurately reflects their contents: Obama sounds like a dreamer in large parts of both books, especially in the 2006 tome. But he is a dreamer with hope.

Here is a glimpse of the man, his dreams and his hope: "My encounters with voters confirm the fundamental decency of the American people ... reminded me that at the core of the American experience are a set of ideals that continue to stir our collective conscience; a common set of values that bind us together despite our differences; a running thread of hope that makes our improbable experiment in democracy work".

Obama dissects the dynamics of American society and politics with intelligence, sympathy and conviction and his well-crafted fluent prose makes his books accessible to all. Both aspiring and serving politicians across continents would find some useful lessons in his thoughtful and insightful observations on politics as a profession and an art in "The audacity of hope".

The value that Obama adds to the understanding of democracy in America through his books is enriched by what he has contributed through the emergence of a grassroots political movement that has propelled him to become one of only three serious contestants for the succession to incumbent President Bush of the USA.

Two features of the political movement - referred to variously as Obamamania and Obama phenomnon - are likely to make a lasting impact on democratic practice in America: one is the attraction into political praxis of millions of new voters, especially youths across university campuses; and the other is the tons of campaign money he has mobilized, largely online, to cover part of the cost of financing his campaigns.

Regarding the latter, he is not the innovator but he has taken the idea to a level that was unthinkable when it was first introduced during the primary stages of the 2004 presidential elections.

The first glimpse at the promise of Obama as a political figure was at the Democratic Party's Convention in July 2004 when he delivered a keynote address that combined freshness and intelligence with conviction. His oratory had the audience on its feet several times, culminating in a very long standing ovation. (I watched the event live on television in the USA at the time).

Yet, he was a mere state-level politician with hardly any national exposure. He was instantaneously hailed as a new star on the US political firmament. Hardly anyone was surprised when he won one of the senate seats in Illinois and became a US senator in January 2005 - the third African American to be elected to the US Senate.

In less than four years after Obama burst onto the national political stage, he has achieved more than he or any of his admirers could have imagined in 2004.

His impressive progress in the contest to become the nominee of the Democratic Party has been extensively covered in both the print and electronic media world-wide.

As I write this Note, he is neck-and-neck with former First Lady, Hilary Clinton, in the contest for delegates who will choose their party's nominee at the party's national convention scheduled for August 2008.

Leaving aside the tactics of the campaign on both sides (fighting clean and fighting dirty), it is noteworthy that, even with his thin political experience, Obama has held his ground in several debates on the issues that matter to Americans: from the bread-and-butter issues to the wide range of domestic economic and social policies as well as international policies, including issues of war, peace and the projection of American influence across continents.

Significantly, the high-brow British weekly magazine, The Economist, recently devoted considerable space to an examination of "Obamanomics", that is, the economic policies that candidate Obama has enunciated.

Two lessons for Nigeria

The first lesson that I would like to highlight is Obama's success in demonstrating the importance and practical relevance of ideas in politics. The second is the demonstration effect of his successful launching of a grassroots political movement at a time political apathy was widespread, especially among the youth.

Of course, we had, in the past, political leaders who cherished ideas and principles and who successfully mobilized the masses for political participation. The notable examples are Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo and Aminu Kano.

Significantly, they recorded striking successes in their different ways. Azikiwe's brilliant articulation of the need for freedom from colonialism attracted many youths into the anti-colonial struggle - the "Zikist Movement".

Awolowo's creative ideas about achieving "life more abundant for all" and his successful mobilization of the masses as well as the elite in Western Nigeria resulted in the achievement of the many "Firsts in Africa" that included the successful implementation of Universal Primary Education in the mid-1950s.

And Aminu Kano's pro-poor ideology and mass mobilization passion and skills opened the political space in northern Nigeria and ensured some attention to the basic needs of the Talakawas.

Sadly, since 1999, the country's political space has been dominated by militocrats whose control was at its peak in 2006/2007 with the poisonous combination of "do or die politics" and "garrison politics". In the circumstances, political mobilization was at its nadir and "cash and carry" civilian politicians joined the militocrats to ensure close to zero political participation, crowned by the disenfranchisement of Nigerian voters at the country's worst-ever elections in April 2007.

Although the militocrats appear to be in retreat with the downsizing of the former president and the departure of his right-hand man, Ahmadu Ali, from the chairmanship of the ruling PDP, the first steps of the succeeding civilians demonstrate no commitment to either the politics of principles or the need for democratic political participation.

The new PDP leadership team that emerged at the end of its March 8 convention was produced through a so-called consensus process that could only have demoralized the convention delegates who were so brazenly disenfranchised and disempowered.

There was no room for a debate on principles and ideals that open elections among competing candidates would have made possible. Unless the politics of principles and ideas and citizen mobilization and empowerment of the 1950s and 1960s are restored, political apathy will hold sway and our political underdevelopment will persist with negative consequences for the stability of the polity and development performance.

Last word: I would like to share with readers of this column the following gripping sentences from the endorsement letter that Toni Morrison, the first African-American Nobel laureate in Literature, sent to Obama on February 15th 2008:

"... that in addition to keen intelligence, integrity and a rare authenticity, you exhibit something that has nothing to do with age, experience, race or gender and something I don't see in other candidates. That something is a creative imagination which, coupled with brilliance, equals wisdom. ...there have been a few prescient leaders in our past, but you are the man for this time."

Whether or not Obama emerges as the nominee of the Democratic Party to contest the presidential elections against John McCain of the Republican Party, and whether or not Obama wins that final election and qualifies to be sworn in as America's 44th president in January 2009, his impact on political ideas and political practice in America is certain to endure for decades.