Lagos — The on-going war in the oil-rich Niger Delta region, clearly, is doing more harm than good and must be stopped immediately, especially so that the innocent can be spared the death, destruction and dislocation that have become their sad lot.

There are conflicting accounts of what gave rise to the latest onslaught by the Joint Task Force (JTF)-Operation Restore Hope. The general picture, however, is that militants in bases in the vicinity of the Warri South West Local Government area of Delta State allegedly ambushed and killed about 12 soldiers on official duty in the area and as reprisal, the JTF came out in full force against them.

According to reports, the force deployed two jet bombers, 10 gun boats and a warship (NNS Obula) as well as about 1000 soldiers on what they called search and rescue mission to free hostages but which, given the scope of the operation, qualifies to be called a full scale war.

Whole communities have been sacked, many have been killed or maimed while thousands of men, women and children, including the elderly, have been displaced with some still hiding in the bushes, as a result of the massive bombardment of such locations as Oporoza, Camp 5, Kunukunuma and Okerenkoko.

Besides the anger at the alleged killing of their officers and men, the JTF is also trying to tame the militants who have been responsible for the sabotaging of oil installations, kidnapping of mostly oil workers, especially expatriates as well as oil bunkering activities.

The militants on their part seem resolved to fight on and from the sophistication of the arms and ammunition the JTF claimed they recovered when they sacked some of their bases in the Warri South West local government area, and from the defiant statements of the spokesman of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), they may have the capacity to wage a long drawn-out guerrilla war.

What this shows is that two elephants are locked in mortal combat and the grass, represented by the innocent children, women, the aged and non-combatant men, is suffering.

At issue is the oil and gas resources of the Niger Delta region. The militants, who are seen as criminals by the Federal Government but who see themselves as freedom fighters, insist that the region should control its resources totally or at least have the derivation formula raised from the present 13 percent to as much as 25 or 50 percent.

They insist that it is unacceptable that their lands and waters would be yielding almost all of the nation's revenue and they would have little or nothing to show for it in terms of physical development of the region and empowerment of the people that own the lands and waters.

Efforts by governments to put in place structures that would address the agitations of the people have, so far, made little or no impact, including the Oil Minerals Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC), the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and recently, the Ministry of Niger Delta.

The NDDC that many thought would be the vehicle for the total transformation of the region was, literally, undermined by the same government that set it up, as funds that were due to it statutorily were withheld and have been pronounced forfeited by the current government of President Umaru Yar'Adua, a pronouncement that evoked more anger against the government. The Ministry of Niger Delta that many felt would make a difference is also being under-funded.

There is, thus, a deadlock. The Federal Government wants the militants to disarm and embrace peace but they insist on equity, justice and fairness before such and are going ahead to try to claim what they see as their right by force of arms.

Another dimension of the unfortunate saga is the allegation that the political leaders of the region have a good share of the blame for the crisis. For one, they are said to be the ones who initially armed the youths for purely political reasons but after politics the boys branched off into bunkering and militancy.

Secondly, it is said that the lack of physical development of the region is traceable to the looting of the treasuries of the states and local governments by these same leaders who diverted the funds that would have been used for infrastructural development as well as for youth empowerment to their private coffers.

To stop the war, there must be immediate cease fire. The displaced and the wounded must be taken care of and all the parties to the conflict must again, return to the table to dialogue.

A clearly spelt out programme for the holistic and rapid development of the region must be agreed on, complete with time frames. The goose that lays the golden eggs must be well taken care of. As this is going on, the process of disarmament should also follow.

We believe that the war is wasteful and the resources devoted to the acquisition of arms and ammunition as well as to the maintenance of the fighting forces could go a long way towards developing the region.

Also very importantly, the people of the region must work out fool proof strategies for monitoring the use of revenue allocated to their area from the federation account or internally generated revenue.

This way, everyone will be sure that whatever comes in is used for the good of all. All the parties to this war in the Niger Delta must, in the final analysis, be reminded of the maxim that it is better to jaw jaw than to war war.