JONATHAN'S FIRST 100 DAYS: NO SIGN OF PROMISED TRANSFORMATION -ACN

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 first100 days of the President Goodluck Jonathan's administration to convince anyone that the president can transform Nigeria as he has promised.

In a statement issued in Lagos yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said events of the first 100 days of the Jonathan administration had been akin to building a structure on sand rather than on rock, adding that such a structure would 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 trademark, 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 path that brought Nigeria to this sorry pass,' it said.

ACN said: 'The president told Nigerians on May 29 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 these 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. Not 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 was 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, fight against corruption and even foreign policy.

On security for example, ACN said, there was 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 had now taken the nation by storm.