SAM OHUABUNWA'S PARADIGM

   Since the Break out of the Nigeria-Biafra war in 1967, one theme has remained recurrent- Unity of Nigeria. General Yakubu Gowon harped on the theme: "To Keep Nigeria one is a task that must be done".In the long expected speech from the President last week after his long medical vacation, the central theme of his very short address was: "Nigeria's unity has been settled and all the trouble makers who are threatening the unity must be summarily dealt with".   Gowon was the Head of State when the war broke out. I am not sure if he has written his memoirs because it will be nice to know if he showed any humility  by admitting that some of his actions contributed to the disunity of the Country and the subsequent civil war. Perhaps one may be charitable to assume that he did not deliberately take those decisions with the aim of precipitating the war. But after a cold and unbiased review of some of his actions, he must have realized that those actions helped to

   The hall mark of democracy is free speech and free association. Implicit in this,is the freedom of dissent or the right to protest against anything that the government has done or did not do as long as such protests are held in line with lawful conduct. When a government becomes intolerant of lawful protests or criticisms by citizens of the Country, that gives a dangerous signal. And it will not be morally right for men of goodwill to keep quiet when our democratic freedoms are being trampled upon.   Some Nigerian citizens who were frustrated that our President had been out of the Country for over about 100 days on his second medical vacation this year, decided to express their frustration by holding some protest rally, first at the Unity centre in Abuja. Operating under the "Our Mumu done do" coalition, the protesters who were generally few in number gathered at Unity Centre, singing and requesting the President to 'resume or resign'. The first sign that our

  I have heard the Acting President say on at least two occasions that those who are complaining of marginalization in Nigeria are actually only saying "please appoint me". The first time I heard him say so, I was taken aback and was not quite sure what to make of it. But when I heard him say so again last week, I became really bothered.   Was the Acting President saying that the cry of marginalization by some ethnic groups or sections in Nigeria is a hoax?  Was he actually saying that there is no genuine case of marginalization in Nigeria and all those complaining about it were only making noise, seeking undue attention or just looking for opportunities for themselves? Or was he saying that indeed there are genuine cases of marginalization in Nigeria but those who are leading the cries are not truly interested in the holistic resolution of the matter but just interested in getting something for themselves? In which case, the moment they get 'settled' perhaps b