LAGOS; TELLI SPEAKING.



MR. TELLI SPOKE OF HIS OPTIMISM FOR THE FUTURE IN NIGERIA.



TRANSCRIPT: INTERVIEWER: WHAT DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE PRESENT SITUATION?



TELLI: I FEEL VERY RELIEVED. AFTER WHAT I KNEW BEFORE, BECAUSE ON THE VERY DAY WHEN THE FEDERAL ARMY WAS GOING IN OWERRI I WAS HERE, IN LAGOS, FEW DAYS BACK, EXACTLY ON THE NINTH AND I HAD A LONG TALK WITH GENERAL GOWON, WITH ALL HIS TOP AIDES AND FROM THEM I HAD NO DOUBT THAT THE MILITARY SITUATION WAS ALMOST OVER. BUT I MUST CONFESS THAT IT CAME EARLIER THAN I WAS THINKING. AND AFTER MY MEETING WITH HIM, TODAY, I AM CONFIDENTLY OPTIMISTIC THAT NIGERIA IS COMPLETELY AWARE THAT THROUGH THE SITUATION HERE, IT IS THE AFRICAN MAN.....THE AFRICAN GOVERNMENT.....THE AFRICAN FREEDOM WHO ARE ENTAILED, AND THEY ARE READY TO TAKE THEIR RESPONSIBILITY, AND I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT AFRICA WILL BE PROUD ABOUT WHAT WE ARE SEEING HERE.



INTERVIEWER: WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS ACHIEVEMENT WILL MEAN FOR THE REST OF AFRICA?



TELLI: THIS MEANS FOR THE REST OF AFRICA THAT NOW, COMPLETELY, A VERY IMPORTANT CHALLENGE.... ONE OF THE BIGGEST.... THROUGH OUR HISTORY....HAS BEEN SOLVED BY AFRICANS THEMSELVES. DESPITE ALL THE IMPORTANT MOVES, PUT BY THE ANTI-AFRICAN FORCES, AFRICA WAS ABLE TO SETTLE IT, BY ITSELF. THIS, BY ITSELF, IS AN IMPORTANT ACHIEVEMENT.




Initials



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: THE SETTLEMENT OF THE NIGERIAN CONFLICT -- BY AFRICANS -- HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS ONE OF THE BIGGEST AND MOST IMPORTANT ACHIEVEMENTS IN AFRICA'S HISTORY, BY THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE ORGANISATION OF AFRICAN UNITY, MR. DIALLO TELLI. SPEAKING IN LAGOS, MR. TELLI SAID HE HAD NO DOUBT THAT AFRICA WOULD BE PROUD OF THE RESULT.