100 DAYS OF JONATHAN: NO GOOD LUCK YET

6th September, 2011   PRESS RELEASE: 100 DAYS OF JONATHAN: NO GOOD LUCK YET   President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan will this week mark his 100 days in office. Jonathan was sworn in as president of Nigeria on 29th May 2011 after a controversial victory at the polls in April characterized by violence.   Much to the chagrin of Mr. President's numerous supporters, none of their expectations has become fait accompli or showed signs of becoming one. The single tenure misadventure has been a major disappointment for Jonathan's admirers as many of them have voiced stiff opposition to the idea. It was indeed a gross miscalculation of the Nigerian political barometer and it was confronted by a tornado of criticisms. We of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) see the move as deceptive, diversionary and self-rewarding.   In spite of the massive outcry against the skyrocketing price of cement, nothing has happened to stem this trend. The president's inability to grasp the dynamics of price control was exposed when his order to bring the price of cement to a reasonable level was ignored. Cement still costs a fortune and Mr. President watches helplessly. This tends to portray Jonathan as lacking experience, opportunistic and incompetent.   Jonathan's administration promises to be the most expensive since independence as he has chosen to create more ministries. In a country where the source of income is monolithic and dwindling, increasing government's expenditure is, to say the least, extravagant.   The present administration also appears intolerant of opposing views. Security agencies harassed the opposition during the presidential campaign while former minister of the Capital Territory, Mallam El-Rufai, was arrested for criticizing Jonathan's government.   Coupled with these is the general insecurity in the land. Bombs have exploded at the police headquarters and at the United Nations' building in Abuja. Neither can we absolve Jonathan of ineptitude for the Independence Day explosions a few meters away from the parade grounds in Abuja because he was already in control long before that period.   Worse still, the president appears jumpy, hasty and unnecessarily excited at the wrong times. His hasty conclusion that MEND was not responsible for the Independence Day explosion whereas MEND claimed responsibility and his claim to know the UN house bombers are unguarded and unpresidential.   Finally, MURIC asks President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to concentrate on the provision of infrastructural facilities for Nigerians. We need good roads, electricity, functional education and quality public health facilities. Although Goodluck is in power, Nigeria is yet to have good luck.         Is-haq Akintola (Ph.D), Director, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), 234-818-211-9714 Is-haq Akintola (Ph.D), Director, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), 234-818-211-9714 E-mail: muslimrightsconcern@yahoo.co.uk              muslimrights@gmail.com Website: www.muric.net Yahoo Group: groups.yahoo.com/group/muslimrights Blog:       muslimrightsmuric.blogspot.com Twitter:   twitter.com/muslimconcern           Be just Justice is the soul of peace No one can deny one and have the other Neither can violence or naked force bring lasting peace