Redemption through Retrospect - 910 Words

Redemption Through Retrospect Patti Smith, a renowned American singer and songwriter, once said, â€Å"The idea of redemption is always good news, even if it means sacrifice or some difficult times.† In one’s lifetime, it is inevitable that one will face personal battles and experience feelings of guilt. One is able to find one’s peace of mind by redeeming oneself, by doing something that ultimately makes up for the cause of guilt. In the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, the story revolves around the two themes of betrayal and redemption. Ultimately, Hosseini exploits Amir’s odyssey to reveal the drastic transformation his character goes through from the moment he witnesses his best friend get raped to the day he runs a kite for his nephew Sohrab, repeating the same phrase Hassan said to him several years earlier. The storyline of The Kite Runner truly reveals how a flawed character can find redemption. Guilt drives Amir to embark on his search fo r redemption after he passively witnesses Hassan’s rape, and he strives to better his flawed character by repeating the same actions but from the giving end, stuffing money under mattresses to support others and running a kite for his nephew. When Amir sees Assef beating Hassan, Amir thinks, â€Å"I had one last chance to make a decision. One final opportunity to decide who I was going to be. I could step into that alley, stand up for Hassan-- the way he’d stood up for me all those times in the past-- and acceptedShow MoreRelatedThe Battle between Passion and Responsibility in Great Expectations964 Words   |  4 Pageschallenge his very integrity. Pip is given the ability to pursue his passions, but perhaps he is given this ability before he developed the responsibility and judgment to use them wisely. 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Christ Jesus who died--more than that, whom was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.† (Romans 8:34, NIV) He’s the second person in theRead MoreAnalysis Of Nicholas Lemann s The Battle Of The Civil War 1567 Words   |  7 Pagesgolden age, from the 1930s to the 1970s. America’s working class was comprised heavily of racial and ethnic minorities, who often stood in problematic relation to politi cal and civil societies. When they tried flexing their political muscle, either through in their workplace, or electoral means, they were often provoked by the hard fist of authority. African Americans who prearranged the Republican Party in Grant Parish, Louisiana, elected officials who represented their views. Later on, in 1873, theRead MoreOedipus As A Tragic Hero1445 Words   |  6 Pagesfor his rashness in casting her out. In Oedipus Rex and King Lear, the theme of exile is explored to both reveal the barrenness of human existence and to emphasize a greater value in human interactions. The significance of this theme is conveyed through Sophocles’ and Shakespeare’s usage of dialog, characterization, and symbolism. To start, Sophocles and Shakespeare utilize dialog to illustrate the theme of exile within their respective works. Attempting to ease Oedipus’s mind by convincing himRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1684 Words   |  7 PagesAmerican Dream, their misguided, delusional outlook on life, and the futile pursuit of materialism, which as a result, costs both Willy and Gatsby idyllic relationships. Arthur Miller and F. Scott Fitzgerald emphasise these morally flawed themes through their use of setting, characterisation, and their effective use of compositional features, to truly provide an insight into the souls of each central character, while displaying their interior motives which are used to justify their behaviour andRead MoreReflections Of The Middle Ages1563 Words   |  7 Pagesimplementation. It is said that homebred corruption, loss of faith in the economy, overzealous imperialism and wars contributed to the Roman Empire s implosion. While theology provide d a way to combat these themes of greed, usury, and self-interest through morale it was also understood that a person s presence, additionally, included free thought. So, it was established that a renewal of classical philosophy be present as a guiding force to complement theology. Dante continuously calls out those whoRead MoreBeing A Sixth Grade Mean Girl1499 Words   |  6 Pages I loved to read, so I was a nerd; I used words they couldn’t understand, so I was a freak. Soon enough, I started to believe them; by the conclusion of fourth grade, I felt worthless. When I learned that I would be transferring schools, I saw redemption. That summer, I exchanged novels for magazines; I went on extreme diets to lose weight as if cutting pounds could cut the memories of abuse from my head. Going into fifth grade, I found myself googling â€Å"How to be Normal† in an attempt to abandonRead MoreBook of Revelation2529 Words   |  11 Pagestremendous impact of the Word of God cannot be overlooked. The climax of God’s plan started back in Genesis â€Å"In the beginning . . .† (New American Standard Bible, Gen.1:1), which lead up to Revelations. As Gareth Leaney stated, â€Å"God’s plan of redemption is not judgment, but the eternity beyond it.† A man named John wrote the book of Revelation on an island in the Argean Sea named Patmos. Domitian banished John to the isle of Patmos because of the Christian stand. This person is believedRead More Victor Hugos Les Miserables and Jean Valjean Essay examples2852 Words   |  12 Pagespersonal and communal destinies. As we progress through the pages, we witness the transformation of our outlaw protagonist and his persistent strivings, to overcome his despair and egotism. The reader will feel from Vaijeans adventures, that the moral character can and does grow, no matter how his previous devastating experiences had hardened him. Since Valjean is the unifying centre of the action in the novel, his moral and spiritual growth through his interaction with characters in Les MiserablesRead More Reflecting on Religion in Literature1925 Words   |  8 Pagesconvoluted religion is we changed our mind. In an attempt to synthesize the work done this semester, I wish to form some sort of definition of religion base on the ethnographies we have studied. In order to create such a definition, I wish to go through the three major books that we read and make a conclusion as to the authors’ understanding of religion. In other words, in my own words, a conclusion on each authors’ take on religion. Afterwards, I wish to use all three to form an overall definition

Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe - 969 Words

Joziah Dietrich Hour 4 Jonas 12/8/2015 My Way or No Way An intelligent motivational speaker, Peter Senge, once said People don t resist change. They resist being changed! As we go on in life, we come across two types of individuals, ones who see the chance to better themselves by making important changes, and ones who think there is no need for change due to the belief that everything about them is perfect. In the two books, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe and The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff, the characters Okonkwo, Nwoye, and Pooh all illustrate the effects of accepting and or resisting change. In Chinua Achebe’s, Things Fall Apart, the character Okonkwo shows the negative outcome of resisting change. Due to a rough†¦show more content†¦Okonkwo continued to reject the ways of his father to the point where his â€Å"whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness† (16). Okonkwo’s fear is what drove him to stay away from change and establish the ultimate goal of showing no resemb lance of his failure of a father. He showed great success by completing the goal and proving to the community that he was an entirely different individual. Although, his success quickly ended when he became close-minded when things didn t go the ways he wanted them to, leading to the downfall of his community. After the return from his 7 year exile, Okonkwo learned the missionaries changed all the people of his home town. â€Å"The clan had undergone such a profound change†(182) that they were barely recognizable, and as a result â€Å"he mourned for his clan†(183) because they had changed so much to the point where they seemed to be â€Å"soft women†(183). Okonkwo could not cope with such a drastic change, for change is what he was trying to stay away from. He had become a disgrace to his community, just like his father, who he refused to be like. By resisting change, Okonkwo lost the respect of his own father and the community that he thought were his people. The fear of change imposed great stress on himself over time, which lead to a breaking point and the taking of his own life. The refusal to change in little ways and accept different ideas is

From the Function of Music to Music Preference free essay sample

To date, not much is known about how the functions of music relate to music preference. This article examines the basic hypothesis that the strength of preference for a given kind of music depends on the degree to which that kind of music serves the needs of the listener; that is, how well the respective functions of music are fulfilled. Study 1, a pilot study, identified the best- known musical styles of the participants, yielding 25 styles that were known by at least 10 percent of them. Study 2 used these 25 styles and found that rock, pop and classical music were liked most.A factor analysis yielded six extinct dimensions of music preference. People showed great variation in the strength of preference for their favorite music. This is explained by the impact of different functions of music. The potential of music to express peoples identity and values and to bring them together was most closely related to the strength of preference. However, the reasons for liking a particular style are not congruent with the functions that people ascribe to their favorite music in general. A theoretical model of the development of music preferences is suggested. Unrest, musical taste, styles, uses and gratification approach KEYWORDS: Knowing more about music preference is essential for the music culture, for the society, [and] for the personal development of the individual (Finns, 1989, p. 43). The investigation of music preference consists of two central questions. First, why does one person like a certain type of music (e. G. , classical music) while another prefers a totally different type of music? And, second, why do people differ in their degree or strength of music preference, which can vary considerably?Good answers to both questions are necessary for building a sound theoretical model of the origin and development of USIA preferences. However, to date, the second question has received little attention. Let us first look at how preferences for a given type of music can be shaped. In his review of the literature on the topic, Finns (1989) concluded that there are several causal factors that can have an impact on music preference: specific characteristics of the music (tempo, rhythm, pitch, etc. ), familiarity and repeated listening, the listeners affective experiences while listening to music and social influences. Other researchers have provided further evidence for the impact of social influences (Adler, 1985; Slaking, Odds, Watts, 2006) and affective experiences (e. G. , Blood Equator, sampler 280 psychology of MusiC 37(3) 2001; Gibberellins, 2001; Guilin Alaska, 2004; Guilin Caseload, 2001) on music preference. And still others have found additional factors that can influence music preference: the personality of the listener (Reenters Gosling, 2003, 2006), the listeners physiological parameters (Mascara Ballard, 1999) and innate auditory preferences (McDermott Hauser, 2005; Tether, Challengers, Hill, 1997; Motto, 1997).And not least, the age of a listener seems to have a strong impact on music preference (Holbrook Schneider, 1989; Mender 1991). This list factors gives an idea how music preferences can be influenced, but the question remains why people actually listen to music and why they develop a special musical taste. If one looks at the research that has addressed the latter qu estion, the most general answers refer to the functions of music, which means that people use music to reach certain goals and serve their needs (e. G. Earnest, 1995; Back, 1993; Hexane, 1995; Larson, 1995; North Harvested, 1999; Caseload, ONeill, Vivaldi, 2001; George, Grant, George Gephardt, 2006). We will first discuss Hess research findings on the functions of music and then argue that the relationship between the functions of music and music preference especially the degree of preference still needs further investigation. Then we present the results of two studies. The first serves as a pilot study that provides the means to examine the relationship between functions of music and the strength of preference for different kinds of music in the second study.Finally, we discuss how the results obtained in the present studies might help to build a theoretical framework on the relationship of musical functions and music preference. Functions and benefits of music There is much evidence that the reasons why we prefer one type of music over another, or even like music at all, can be ascribed to the functions of music (Earnest, 1995; gene, 1 986, 1997; Guilin chukka, 2004 Larson, 1995; Lewis, 1992; Sartorially Erik, 2007; Schwartz gouts, 2003; Caseload et al. , 2001). Our daily lives are thought to be driven by certain needs that lead us to a state of subjective well-being or hedonism (see, e. . , Rises, 2004), and music is just one thing that brings us a bit closer to this end every day. We use music to serve several functions that are important to us. Most of the functions are related to developmental issues, especially for adolescents. Young people use music to explore, express and tighten their identities (Earnest, 1995; Larson, 1995; North Harvested, 1 999) and to communicate their personal values, ambitions, beliefs, and perceptions of the world and themselves (North Harvested, 1999; Steele Brown, 1 995; White, 1985). Through music people can try on different personalities or identities, including desirable ones as well as ones they fear (Larson, 1995; Markus Nurses, 1986). In this context, music is also used to establish a symbolic border against other groups (or against parents in early adolescence) to define a (youth) culture of its own (Back, 1 993; Rill, 2006). Music can enhance interactions with peers or with a partner, by providing either a medium for communication and common activities (e. G. , Denies, 1 992; Lull, 1992) or information about the other through his or her favorite music (Reenters Gosling, 2006).Reenters and Gosling (2003, 2006) found that listening to music is the top leisure-time activity for most people and they suggested that music is highly Downloaded from pomp. Seepage. Com at Universities Ethnology Mar (CCITT) on March 23, 201 1 Schafer and Sideliner: From the functions of music to music preference 281 diagnostic for exploring the personality of others. Further, music is used to tune out and to cope with daily hassles and problems (Earnest, 1 995; Larson, 1995; Schwartz Pouts, 2003; Taxman Hortatory, 2002).In a broader sense, we use music to manage and regulate our moods and emotions, to chill and relax, and to reminisce (George et al. , 2006; Guilin Alaska, 2001; Sartorially Erik, 2007; Ashrams Worth, 2006; Waterman, 1 996; Gilligan, 1988). People also use music to manage their arousal level or to satisfy their negation seeking (Earnest, 1992; Gnawing Mirror, 1999; Mascara Ballard, 1999), and music leads to physical activity through dancing. Functions of music and music preference Most of the studies that have investigated functions of music have used preferred or favorite music without considering the degree of preference.However, this pr ocedure makes it difficult to study the impact of functions of music on music preference: Why there is a continuum between just liking music and adoring music and whether and how this degree of preference is related to the functions of music has, to the best of our knowledge, not yet been addressed. In most of the research reported above, the assumption was made that the functions of music are directly related to preference, meaning that the more intensely music can be used to serve certain functions, the more intense the preference.However, this is not compelling, because music can be used in several ways, but not all of them appropriate for every listener. That is, someone might be aware of various functions his or her favorite music can serve, but this need not be the main reason for liking this music best. Thus, we have to look for the missing link between the functions of music and the degree Of music preference. A theoretical basis for investigating this relationship is provided by Been (1997, p. 49), who suggested that this relationship is linear that the intensity of music preferences seems to be a mirror of the intensity of Immensurable, defined as the sum of psychic processes which accompany the experience of music in situations when music is in the focus of interest (Been, 1997, p. 143). Following Been (1 997), we hypothesized that the strength of music preference should cavalry with the intensity of music use: the better the needs of a listener are served by a given music, the higher the degree of preference for that music should be.Rationale of present studies Our first step was to search for commonly known musical styles. Respondents were asked to list all musical styles known to them. This was done to obtain an overview of known styles to use instead of a ready-made list of styles collected by experts or a researcher, as has often been done. The best-known styles were then identified (Study 1). The next step (Study 2) was to determine if these styles could be grouped into a few dimensions of music preference to possibly confirm the results of previous research and to have a starting point for investigating the functions of music.Dimensions (factors) of musical styles (e. G. , rock, pop, rap, electro) refer to specific styles of music that are similarly rated or liked (e. G. , Bog, Racketeer, Volleyball, Well, Sickens, 2003; Burger, Gladiola, Lester, 2002; Christenson Peterson, Downloaded from pomp. Seepage. Com at Universities Ethnology Mar (Tim) on March 23, 282 Psychology of Music 37(3) 1988; Taxman Hortatory, 2002). In research, they are primarily used to reduce the number of different styles, especially to learn something about the perception of music and its impact on human behavior, emotion and cognition. For example, the genre rap might contain musical styles such as hip hop, black music, R n B, and rap. In a series of excellent studies, Reenters and Gosling (2003) showed that preferences can be grouped into only four dimensions that reflect the central characteristics of the music described: (1 ) reflective and complex (e. G. , classical); (2) intense and rebellious (e. G. , rock); (3) upbeat and conventional (e. G. , pop); and (4) energetic and rhythmic (e. G. , rap).Then we searched for the functions people ascribe to their favorite music and the relationship between these functions and their degree of preference, o learn something about what it is that makes them passionate listeners. The functions with the greatest influence on preference were identified via stepwise regression analysis. The functions used in Study 2 were derived from previous research on functions of music and were intended to cover all categories of functions music can have (except therapeutic).Preference for favorite music was investigated using questions concerning judgment as well as behavioral dimensions of preference in order to observe it in a more valid way, rather than a single scale of liking from not at all to very much. Study 1: how well known are different musical styles? Study 1 was conducted as a pilot study that investigated how well known different musical styles are, to provide the musical styles to be used in Study 2. METHOD In a questionnaire survey, 170 participants (100 female, 70 male) were asked to list, on paper, all the musical styles they knew.Participants were 15 to 78 years old (M 26. 4; SD 12. 2). Most (67. 1 were students at Chemist University of Technology in Germany (mainly in the social sciences, I. E. , psychology, sociology, pedagogy); 24. 7 percent were employed in various professions, and 8. Percent were sleepyhead or unemployed. Although we intended to have a balanced ratio of males and females, we received more answers from females, which is probably because social science students in Germany are predominantly female. Participants received no compensation for their participation.In addition to listing the musical styles they knew, participants estimated the mean time they spent listening to music every day and rated their musicality (scale from 1, very unmusical, to 10, very musical) as well as the importance of music in their life (scale from 1, not at all important, to 10, very important). R USE L T SAND IS CUE S S I ON There were 74 different musical styles, each known to at least one participant. To narrow the field for further investigation, styles were selected that were known by at least 10 percent of all respondents, which resulted in 25 styles (see Table 1).Respondents mean rating for self-estimated musicality was 6. 1 (SD 2. 4), and the mean rating for importance of music in their life was 8. 2 (SD 1. 8). Thus, participants rated their own musicality as moderate, yet music seems to play a very important role in their life. This is emphasized by the reported time they spent listening to Downloaded from pomp. Seepage. Com at Universities Ethnology Mar (Tim) on March 23, 2011 Schafer and Sideliner: From the functions of music to music preference 283 music per day, which was about three hours (M 2. 9; SD 1 . ). The duration of music listening was slightly negatively correlated with age (r . 15; with a sample size Of n 170, and a one-tailed Of 5 percent, correlations are significant if r . 13) but more and positively with musicality (r . 24) and importance of music (r . 29). As suggested by previous findings (Mended, 1 991), importance of music decreased with age (r . 24). This is further supported by a negative relation between age and the number of styles mentioned (r . 30). Musicality was moderately correlated with importance of music (r . 39).To reveal possible effects of gender, we used t-tests to compare the mean values for musicality, importance of music and amount of time of music listening per day of males and females. Despite the relatively high power because of the large samples, none of the tests were significant. The same holds for comparisons of the Fisher z-transformed correlations (e. G. , Rosenthal Orison, 1991, p. 495) calculated separately for males and females. Thus, gender effects were negligible in our study. The list of best-known musical styles was used as a starting point for Study 2. It provides a valid representation of styles familiar to the respondents.In Study 2, a larger sample was investigated; this is why Study 1 covered no further questions. TABLE 1 How well known are different musical styles? Musical style Pop Classical Rock Jazz Folk Hip hop Techno Metal Blues Punk Beat-music Reggae R n B Soul House Rock n roll Country Rap Swing Gospel Ask Alternative Dance Gothic Trance Note: N 170. Frequency of mention 134 128 125 114 102 100 100 74 67 67 64 58 56 54 46 4039 38 30 29 29 24 24 22 19 recent of participants 78. 8 75. 3 73. 5 67. 1 60. 0 58. 8 58. 8 43. 5 39. 4 394 37. 6 34. 1 32. 9 27. 1 23. 5 22. 9 22. 4 17. 6 17. 1 17. 1 14. 1 14. 1 12. 9 11. 284 Study 2: the functions of music and music preference The purposes of Study 2 were to investigate (1 ) the distribution of preference for the musical styles from Study 1 to analyses the specific degree to which people like their favorite music; (2) the structure of these preferences, to find main dimensions by factor analysis, first to check whether dimensions (factors) from recent research can be confirmed, and second to use these mentions as musical genres to analyses further results in detail for each genre; (3) which functions peoples favorite music can have; and (4) how these functions are related to the specific degree of peoples music preferences. METHOD Participants In this study, 507 participants from several German cities responded to an online survey via the internet. They were 11 to 50 years old (M 24. 8; SD 5. 1); 71 percent were female, 29 percent male. Most (79. 5%) were students of various disciplines (mainly in the social sciences, I. E. Psychology, sociology, pedagogy), 15. 6 percent were employed in various professions, and . 9 percent were self-employed or unemployed. Thus, the respondents in this sample were somewhat younger than those in Study 1 and there were more students. Again, participants received no compensation for taking part in the study. As in Study 1 respondents had to provide information about their musicality and the importance of music. The results were consistent with Study 1 for self-estimated musicality (M 5. 7; SD 2. 4), the importance of music in their life (M 7. 7; SD 1. 5), and the mean duration of listening to music per day (M 3. 1 hours; SD 2. 5).Again, the duration of music listening was slightly actively correlated with age (r . 14) but more ? and positively ? with the importance of music (r . 33). However, it was not correlated with musicality (r . 07). Importance of music did not decrease with age (r . 08), which is a clear difference from Study 1 and probably because of the younger sample in Study 2. Musicality was moderately correlated with importance of music (r . 41). As in Study 1 to reveal possible gender effects we ran t-tests for musicality, importance of music and amount of time of music listening per day, and we compared all correlation coefficients between males and females. None of these differences were significant.Thus, again, gender effects were negligible. Material and procedure The questionnaire was provided via the internet and completed online. All materials were originally in German. The link to the website was distributed via email to mailing lists Of German universities, and all respondents were encouraged to forward this link to their friends and relatives. First, participants were asked to give preference ratings for each of the 25 musical styles from Study 1. This was done on ID-point Liker scales with the poles (0-9) labeled l dont like it at all and l like it very much. Then the respondents were asked to name their favorite music (not restricted to the 25 given styles).To provide information about music preference, including attitudes as well as behavioral dimensions, they were asked to rate how much they agreed with the following statements: (1) l like this music, (2) I couldnt live without this music, (3) l regularly visit clubs or concerts to listen to this muse, (4) l just need this music, (5) Im a passionate Downloaded from pomp. Seepage. Com at Universities Ethnology Mar (Tim) on 285 listener of this music, (6) l usually spend a lot of money to purchase this music. This was done on 1 a-point Liker scales with the poles labeled do not agree at all and completely agree. Following this, respondents were asked to think of their favorite music and rate how much they agreed with several statements about it (the functions of music as found in the literature, see Table 2).Again, 1 a-point Liker scales were used with the poles labeled not agree at all and completely agree. Participants then had the opportunity to name additional functions of their favorite music that were not on the list. Rest Its and discussion The structure of music preferences The 25 best-known musical styles were dated for preference. Despite the limitations (the somewhat younger sample and the missing correlation between the importance of music and age in Study 2), the overall correspondence between the two samples seemed to be high enough to use the 25 best-known musical styles from Study 1 in Study 2. Figure 1 shows the rank-ordered mean preference ratings.The most favored styles were rock and alternative, followed by classical, pop, rock n roll, jazz, punk, reggae, blues and ask. Styles that were judged rather negatively were beat music, folk and the various kinds of electronic music. This reflects and extends previous findings about the popularity of musical styles, namely, that rock, classical and pop music are very popular styles (e. G. , Been, 1986; Mended, 1991) but that folk music does not play as important a role for Germans as it does, for example, for Turkish people (Taxman Hortatory, 2002). Previous research has repeatedly revealed a structure of music preferences, meaning that certain musical styles are perceived or rated similarly.

Critique the Constitutional Provision for Press Freedom in Nigerian 1999 Constitution free essay sample

In America they say freedom of the press is democracy. With more than 100 national, local, and state-owned newspapers and publications; print media in Nigeria is one of the most vibrant in all of Africa. While on a superficial level, it appears the media in Nigeria enjoy a considerable freedom, in reality however, independent journalism is not as common as it may appear. Despite the transition from military to civilian rule in 1999, clampdown, assault, beatings, unfair arrests and police raids of media house has continued. Between June 2002 and September 2003 alone Media Rights Agenda (MRA), a Lagos based nongovernmental organization which promotes press freedom and freedom of expression, recorded more than fifty cases of reported abuses against journalists and other violations of freedom of expression. The media watchdog Reporters Without Borders in 2010 listed Nigeria Police Force as the leading abuser of journalists’ rights. On Saturday, April 24, 2010, Edo-Ugbagwu, a judicial correspondent of The Nation newspapers was murdered in Lagos. Also, Godwin Agbroko and Abayomi Ogundeji of Thisday newsapeprs, Omololu Falabi and Bayo Ohu of The Guardian were all brutally killed in Lagos by unknown gun men recently. All these killings and the initial reluctance of the national assembly and the president to pass the Freedom of Information Bill have further raised the question of press freedom once more in Nigerian democracy. The assault on the press is a fundamental breach on democratic norms and serves to remind Nigerians of the dark days of impunity during the Military era. Justification for Press Freedom in Nigerian 1999 Constitution Nigeria is operating now as a democracy so the freedom of expression including freedom to hold opinions, receive and impart ideas without interference should be a fundamental right guaranteed under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the African Charter On Human and Peoples Rights, (ACHPR), the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 and other regional and international treaties to which Nigeria is privy. Moreover, Section 39 (1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria provides: Every person shall be entitled to freedom to hold opinions and impart ideas and information without interference. There is a reason why press freedom is included in the Nigerian constitution. The idea behind freedom of the press is that an informed public has a fighting chance against any government who will like to possess complete power over them. According to established human rights provisions it is quite clear these acts of intimidation and harassment are unconstitutional, an abuse of due process, and a negation of the gains so far made in Nigeria’s fledgling democracy. Democracy flourishes under a free press. It is a system that provides for the right to freedom of expression. And it is the foundation upon which rests other freedoms. If politics is about development and the ultimate goal of any political system is to ensure the improvement of the security and welfare of the citizenry, then the resort to assault on the Media negates fundamental rights and the rule of law. It merely demonstrates impunity, and intolerance to alternatives views. The brutal murder of Dele Giwa should specially be remembered this day and the question repeated: who killed Dele Giwa? The prime suspect in the murder, Ibrahim Babangida, should be made to answer this question as he prepares to run for the presidential election. When it is impossible to retort through the media, any injustice occurring against the people by those they supposedly voted in to advance their wellbeing, it means the country is headed down the road of totalitarian rule. In the last 12 years since the return of the country to civilian rule, the Nigerian Press has been under serious threat by Law enforcement agencies and other government organizations. When Channels Television was closed in 2008, the CEO John Momoh apologised to the government but the initial suspension of its license over a story on the purported plan of President Umaru Yar’Adua to resign was a sign of an unspoken threshold beyond which criticism is not tolerated in Nigeria. (Who knows what that purported resignation would have been the best of the sick president? Limitations to Press Freedom in Nigerian 1999 Constitution The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria grants to Nigerians the Right to Freedom of Expression and the Press. In Section 39 (1) it states: â€Å"Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinion and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference. † However, in sub-section 3, th e same constitution takes away with the left hand what it had granted with the right hand in section 39. Sub-section 3 states: Nothing in this section shall invalidate any law that is reasonably justifiable in a democratic society: (a) For the purpose of preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, maintaining the authority and independence of courts or regulating telephony, wireless broadcasting, television or the exhibition of cinematography films or (b) Imposing restriction upon persons holding office under the government of the federation or of a state, members of the armed forces of the federation or members of the Nigeria Police Force or other government security services or agencies established by law. In chapter 2, titled Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy, Section 22, the Constitution imposes some obligations on the mass media. It states â€Å"The press, radio, television and other agencies of the mass media shall at all tim es be free to uphold the fundamental objectives contained in this chapter and uphold the responsibility and accountability of the government to the people. † But how is the press supposed to discharge these weighty responsibilities if its voice is padlocked not only by the limitations contained in sub-section 3(a) and (b) of section 39 but also by the Official Secrets Act, 1962, and other enactments? Clearly, the Official Secrets Act prevents a journalist from receiving and or imparting information that is available to a government official by the virtue of his office. Section 1 of that Act makes it an offence for a person to transmit any classified matter to a person to whom he is not authorized on behalf of the government or to reproduce, retain or obtain any classified matter. Section 2 brings down the hammer on a public officer who avails any unauthorized person of classified matter under his custody or control by pronouncing him guilty of an offence. But secrecy in matters of public interest is a violation of the principle of the peoples right to know. It is also antithetical to the principles of transparency and accountability in governance. * Defamation: this include Libel and Slander: In Law â€Å"Libel† refers to everything printed or written which reflects on the character of another, and is published without lawful justification or excuse, whatever the intention may have been, while â€Å"slander† on the other hand was described as A false and defamatory statement concerning a person made by word of mouth or in other transient form. Sedition: Sedition is a comprehensive term and it embraces all those practices, whether by word, deed or writing which are calculated to disturb the tranquility of the state, and overthrow the government. When therefore any write-up or speech or any device of communication whether by sign, tapes, caricature etc, that has the effect of producing any of the above, such a write-up notwithstanding the constitutional freedom of expression amounts of sedition.