United States government has denied making any predictions that Nigeria stood the risk of disintegrating by the year 2015.
The Political Officer, US Embassy Abuja, William F. Harlow, made this refuttal during the week while delivering a lecture in Jos, Plateau State capital.
Last year, a statement was credited to the America�s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), to the effect that Nigeria may likely disintegrate in 2015 if the country keeps treading a violent political path. But the Political Officer in the US Embassy in Abuja, while speaking in Jos, said the government of his country did not say nor forsee any such thing happening to Nigeria.
Said he: �My government thinks nothing like that. My government believes in Nigeria. Nigeria held elections in 1999 and 2003, which my country assisted; and Nigeria will hold elections again 2007, which my country will be willing to assist�, Mr. Harlow said.
In his lecture entitled, �Election: The American experience, 217 years since the first American election and the work of universal suffrage continues�, Mr. Harlow noted �America does not doubt Nigeria�s democracy�, but rather that �Americans are so sympathetic and supportive of Nigeria�s efforts to strengthen its own election process.�
The US Embassy officer further stated that: �America stands by Nigerians, our fellow pilgrims on the road to democracy and the rule of law, to help where we can as you work through the registration and election process, but always only at your invitation.�
He observed that the success of democracy in Nigeria was crucial to the whole of Africa because Nigeria is an important and powerful nation in Africa, where all other nations in the continent were looking up to as an example.
Insisting that democracy was not an easy road to travel, the diplomat however, stated that the mark of democracy was not �in finding easy road to perfect election process at all times, but that it consists in continuously holding elections with an effort to make every voice heard�.
Harlow disclosed that since its first presidential elections in the last 217 years, America has been striving to get democratic elections right, and that till this moment the work has never ended; adding that it took America 182 years to get universal suffrage.
While commending Nigeria for coming this far in her democratic process, Mr. Harlow said even America experiences cases of low turn out of voters and the perception amongst them as to whether their votes really count during elections.