Fellow Nigerians,

On this occasion of the celebration of our national day, I bring you greetings.

I have directed that no formal celebrations be held but that you all, as individuals, groups of people or religious organisations should be asked to say prayers to God for the return of peace and understanding among our diverse people and communities.

I ask you to rededicate yourselves on this ninth anniversary of our attainment of independence to the pursuance of only those things which will ensure the preservation of the unity of this country.

It is the inescapable duty of the government of every sovereign nation to safeguard its territorial integrity.

The policies of the Federal Military Government have been designed to enable it to carry out this duty.

Sometime ago, I told you that all our resources would be devoted to ensure that we achieve, as quickly as possible, complete victory over the rebellion which has plunged this nation into civil war.

Appreciation

Since then, our troops have fought bravely and reduced the area under the rebel control to an enclave less than 2,000 square miles.

On your behalf I would like to express the nation's appreciation and send our congratulations to all the gallant members of the various arms of the fighting forces for their courage, bravery and fortitude.

We ask them to continue to give off their very best, so that this country may be saved from destruction.

I have been asked now and again what is holding up the conclusion of military operations.

Let me answer this question by repeating once again that we are quelling a rebellion, not fighting an external enemy.

We have conducted operations of the war in a very deliberate fashion so that we can achieve national reconciliation on the cessation of hostilities.

Our detractors say that the reason for the delay is that we do not have the will or the capacity to achieve a military solution.

This is not so.

The responsibility for healing the nation's wounds in the future rests with us, not with any foreigner so, let us not forget why we have gone to war — to keep Nigeria one.

Here, I wish to announce that in the spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation, I have instructed the police to release from detention as soon as practicable, all persons who have been detained during the current crisis and who are no longer considered to constitute grave security risk to the country.

It is up to those affected to prove their loyalty and faith in the country and in our efforts to build a healthy society where no man is oppressed.

In the spirit of conciliation and with the paramount aim of preserving the unity of our country, we have allowed our African brothers in the OAU to help us to find ways and means of achieving a peaceful solution to our crisis.

Resolution

The recent meeting of the Organisation of African Unity assembly of heads of state and governments at Addis Ababa passed a resolution which called on all Nigerians — including the secessionists — to agree to preserve the overriding interests of Africa, the unity of Nigeria and to accept immediately the suspension of hostilities and the opening without delay of negotiation intended to preserve the unity of this country and restore reconciliation and peace that will ensure for our people every form of security and every guarantee of equal rights, prerogatives and obligations.

We accepted the resolutions in its entirety and declared ourselves ready and prepared for negotiations which will be conducted in a spirit of realism in the interest of all our people.

We have offered several times in the past, terms which guarantee to all the citizens of our country, equality and full security of their persons and their property. We stand by these terms.

In my speech at the OAU conference, I warned that unless the secessionist leadership accepted the opportunity offered by the OAU to settle our crisis by peaceful negotiation, the Federal Military Government would have no choice but to carry on the military operations to its logical conclusion.

Developments

There is still time for the secessionist leadership to retrace its steps, but time is fast running out.

Developments in the war-affected areas have shown that the civilian victims in the areas still under the control of the secessionists are now beginning to appreciate that they are being used to satisfy the political ends of a few ambitious people.

These misguided Nigerians thought they saw in the temporary difficulties which had beset this nation the opportunity of creating an empire for themselves.

It will not be long now before the sufferings of the innocent people are ended.

In the meantime, the Federal Military Government will continue to cooperate with genuine humanitarian organisations to enable foods, medical supplies and other relief materials to reach the innocent people under the secessionist control.

I now wish to speak briefly about the recent wave of lawlessness and terror involving unprovoked attacks on innocent civilians and some law enforcement agencies in the Western State.

It is the duty of the government not only to provide good and orderly administration, but also to ensure that the legitimate grievances of the people, if any, are remedied without delay.

I am aware that the government is taking the necessary steps to remove the causes of the grievances which are known to be genuine but quite clearly, it is also the duty of the people to bring their grievances to the notice of the government without resort to acts of lawlessness.

It is therefore most regrettable at this time of national emergency that some people should allow themselves to be misguided into trying to obtain redress of their grievances through violence.

Why should our brothers in the Western State give the impression that they relish the taunts of those who disparagingly call the state the "wild West."

Why must our Yoruba brothers, as it seems, choose to smear their tradition and reputation for progressiveness and enlightenment.

Honestly, I must advise our brothers in the Western State that it does them no credit to allow foreigners, and even some Nigerians, to say the current Nigerian crisis originated from the West in 1962 and the people are yet not helping this country by not sinking their differences.

Every effort is being made urgently to determine the underlying causes of the recent disturbances.

I understand, however, that one reason may be the desire of some persons to have new states created in the country.

The present 12 states structure was designed to correct the structural imbalance of the former federation and to remove the genuine fears of the domination of the country by any one section or combination of sections of it through size.

States were created to further political progress and stability and to ensure freedom and protection for all sections of the country.

It should be obvious, therefore, that in the interest of continued stability, the present structure may, as I have indicated on previous occasions, have to be re-examined to determine whether there is need to have more than the present minimum of 12 states.

Nation at war

But this is surely not the time for such re-examination.

Our nation is at war. All efforts must be directed towards the conclusion of the war. We cannot afford to dissipate our energies.

Once again, I must remind all the citizens of this country that this is not the time for partisan political activities at the local or national level.

We must all strive to subdue sectional ambition, in the overall interest of the nation. Our legacy to future generations of Nigerians should be a united and stable country.

I appeal to the people of the Western State, and the whole nation, for that matter, not to do anything to tarnish Nigeria's good name or provide support for the enemies of Africa who spread calumnies abroad about us.

Finally, I wish to assure that the Federal Military Government remains as determined as ever to pursue relentlessly the search for an honourable and lasting solution to the Nigerian crisis. This can be achieved only with your continued cooperation and sacrifice.

You have done extremely well but more is required of all in order to complete the task that God has called upon all of us to accomplish for the good of our beloved country and in the interest of the whole of Africa.

May God bless you all.