11th September, 2011
The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) says while 100 days may truly be too short to assess any administration, there has been little or nothing in the first 100 days of the President Goodluck Jonathan administration to convince anyone that this President can indeed transform Nigeria as he has promised.
In a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said events of the first 100 days of the Jonathan administration have been akin to building a structure on sand rather than on rock, adding that such a structure will not endure.
It said the only ‘achievement’ that sticks out like a sore thumb in the administration’s first 100 days is the poorly-thought-out and ill-advised single-tenure kite being flown by the President.
”In his inaugural speech, the President exhorted Nigerians to ‘look beyond the hardship you have endured. See a new beginning; a new direction; a new spirit’. Unfortunately, the President’s unsteady gait as well as his trade mark indecision on critical issues in the past 100 days do not point to a new spirit or a new beginning. They point to a return to the same old raggedy path that brought Nigeria to this sorry pass,” it said.
ACN said: ”The President told Nigerians on May 29th that ‘I am mindful that I represent the shared aspiration of all our people to forge a united Nigeria: a land of justice, opportunity and plenty.’ But the unity of Nigeria has never been more threatened than it is under his watch, and the country is still far from being a land of justice.”
”The President said he is very conscious of the negative effect of insecurity on growth and development, but now expects Nigerians to believe that the contraption he calls Economic Management Team and a supposed first rate cabinet will perform miracles, even as insecurity stalks the land; as Boko Haram continues to kill and maim with impunity, as kidnappers are having a field day and armed robbers striking at will.
”The President said he represents the shared aspiration of Nigerians to forge a united Nigeria, but watches helplessly as Nigerians decimate one another in Jos, and families upon families are being wiped out in an orgy of unspeakable violence.
No thanks to the inept handling of the Jos crisis, the situation has worsened in the past 100 days.
”We do not expect the President to transform Nigeria in 100 days, but we expect him to take the first sure step towards the transformation of Nigeria.
”After all, it was the late US President John F. Kennedy who said in his inaugural speech about his plans for his country: ‘All this will not be finished in the first 100 days. Nor will it be finished in the first 1,000 days; nor in the life of this administration. Nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin’,†the party added.
It said what Nigerians had been hoping to see in the first 100 days of President Jonathan is a clear break from the past, and a
triumph of vision over substance in all facets of life, including the economy, infrastructure, education, job creation, power, the fight against corruption and even foreign policy.
On security for example, ACN said, there is nothing inspiring or indicating vision in the statement credited to the National Security Adviser that Nigeria was not prepared for the kind of terrorism that has now taken the nation by storm.
”No nation that is worth its salt will say it is not prepared for terrorism, 10 years after terrorists killed over 3,000 people in one day alone in the aerial attacks on the US. No nation that wants to be taken seriously will say it is not prepared for terrorism when terrorists have struck in countries they consider as soft targets, like Kenya and Tanzania. Nothing in the NSA’s comments reassures Nigerians that this government will tackle insecurity decisively in the next four years,” the party said.
It also said the overly simplistic statement credited to Information Minister Labaran Maku, that the greatest achievement of the Jonathan administration in the past three months was “setting the stage for development to take root in Nigeria through the constitution of a vibrant cabinet and a world class economic team,” raises even more concern over the calibre of people in the cabinet.
”How can anyone talk of setting the stage for development in an atmosphere of insecurity? How can development take root in a land of impunity, where the rule of law is easily subordinated to the rule of the jungle? How can a so-called vibrant cabinet and a world class economic team achieve anything without a visionary policy direction?” the party queried.
”We are not asking the President to tar all dilapidated roads in the first 100 days. We do not expect the President to solve Nigeria’s numerous problems in the first 100 days. We do not think the President is a miracle man who can transform Nigeria overnight. But we
expect him to lead the drive for the nation’s rebirth and give hope to our people, in speech and in deed, and to roll out a clear road-map to the land of security, prosperity, respect for the rule of law as well as world class education and modern healthcare for the citizenry.
”Sadly, the Jonathan administration has done little or nothing in its first 100 days to show it has even taken the first step on the journey to that land, or even knows how to get there!” ACN said.