The Izon of the Niger Delta: Chapter 20

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CHAPTER 20 THE CENTRAL DELTA Atei Mark Okorobia Introduction The Ijo of the Central Niger Delta are significant for our understanding of the history and culture of the Ijo world in more than one way. First, they occupy the geographical centre of the Niger Delta. Secondly, over 90% of all Ijo groups in the Niger Delta claim this region as the homeland of their ancestors. Thirdly, the Ijo of the Central Niger Delta have not attracted as much scholarly attention as the Eastern Delta Ijo. The best the area has got till date is, perhaps, The Land and People of Bayelsa State: Central Niger Delta, a multi-disciplinary compendium on the Ijo and their neighbours in the Central Niger Delta edited by Alagoa. Finally, the history of the oil and gas industry cannot be written without giving due attention to the Central Delta, particularly, of Otokopiri, near Oloibiri, from where the first oil exported by Nigeria was extracted in 1956. In this chapter then, we state the role of the Central Delta Ijo people in the history and culture of the Ijo ethnic nationality, paying special attention to their origins, bearing in mind the fact that a clear comprehension of their roots will help our understanding of the roots of other Ijo people who have traced their ancestry to the Central Delta. Other issues emphasized are, their role in the Atlantic Trade; their experiences under British colonialism; the struggle for the creation of Bayelsa State, and efforts at achieving sustainable development. The Ijo People of the Central Niger Delta In this chapter, we modify Alagoa (1972, 2005) to include the following groups as the Ijo of the Central Niger Delta: 1. Apoi, 2. Basan 3. Olodiama, 4. Oporoma, 5. Ogboin, 6. Tungbo, 7. Kolokuma, 8. Opokuma, 9. Gbaran, 10. Zarama, 11. Okordia, 12. Buseni 13. Ekpetiama, 14. Tarakiri, 15. Boma/Bumo, 16. Akasa/Akaha/Akassa, 17.Okoroma, and 18.Nembe. 459

Transcript of The Izon of the Niger Delta: Chapter 20

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CHAPTER 20THE CENTRAL DELTA

Atei Mark Okorobia

IntroductionThe Ijo of the Central Niger Delta are significant for our understanding of thehistory and culture of the Ijo world in more than one way. First, they occupy thegeographical centre of the Niger Delta. Secondly, over 90% of all Ijo groups in theNiger Delta claim this region as the homeland of their ancestors. Thirdly, the Ijo ofthe Central Niger Delta have not attracted as much scholarly attention as theEastern Delta Ijo. The best the area has got till date is, perhaps, The Land andPeople of Bayelsa State: Central Niger Delta, a multi-disciplinary compendium onthe Ijo and their neighbours in the Central Niger Delta edited by Alagoa. Finally,the history of the oil and gas industry cannot be written without giving dueattention to the Central Delta, particularly, of Otokopiri, near Oloibiri, from wherethe first oil exported by Nigeria was extracted in 1956.

In this chapter then, we state the role of the Central Delta Ijo people in the historyand culture of the Ijo ethnic nationality, paying special attention to their origins,bearing in mind the fact that a clear comprehension of their roots will help ourunderstanding of the roots of other Ijo people who have traced their ancestry to theCentral Delta. Other issues emphasized are, their role in the Atlantic Trade; theirexperiences under British colonialism; the struggle for the creation of BayelsaState, and efforts at achieving sustainable development. The Ijo People of the Central Niger DeltaIn this chapter, we modify Alagoa (1972, 2005) to include the following groups asthe Ijo of the Central Niger Delta:1. Apoi, 2. Basan 3. Olodiama, 4. Oporoma, 5. Ogboin, 6. Tungbo, 7. Kolokuma,8. Opokuma, 9. Gbaran, 10. Zarama, 11. Okordia, 12. Buseni 13. Ekpetiama, 14.Tarakiri, 15. Boma/Bumo, 16. Akasa/Akaha/Akassa, 17.Okoroma, and 18.Nembe.

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Fig. 20.1: The Ijo of the Central Delta

Community Traditions.We trace the historical origins of each community as they have been recorded intheir own oral traditions. Thereafter, we have attempted to interpret and evaluatethem in the light of supporting evidence from historical linguistics, archaeology,ethnography and palynology. The accounts have been derived mainly from Alagoa(1972 and 1999), with a few updates.

1. KolokumaThe Kolokuma share the same ancestral roots with the people of Tarakiri (West)and Opokuma. Their common ancestor has been variously named Ndo or Indo,and he is said to have originated from the ancient Benin Kingdom by Newington(1938) and lle-lfe by Owonaro (1949). He is said to have eventually settled withinthe Igbedi Creek. The ancient site of Agadagbabou on Wilberforce Island is namedas one of their early places of settlement. Another old site was Orubou orOruamatoru. The ‘sons’ of the eponymous ancestor of the Kolokuma, named inversions of traditions as Kolokumaowei, Kala-Okun and Aluku, eventually led thepeople out of the Igbedi Creek into the Nun River.

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Plate 20.1: Oloibiri oil well and signboard (Courteesy of Tam Fiofori)

Of the identified nine lineages or dani that came to be established on the NunRiver, five have been named as founded by sons of Kolokumaowei without variantaccounts of origin, namely, Egbebiridani, Isedani, Ofodani, Oloudani, andOpoidani. The other four lineages have variant versions naming outside places oforigin. Thus Egbedani is stated to have been founded by Egbe, ‘son of Uge and thegrandson of Mein, the founder of Mein clan’, Osumadani by ‘Eweli, an immigrantfrom Awka in Ibo land’, Abadani from Anyama in Tarakiri (East); and Burudanifrom Awka.

The use of the term dani is peculiar to the Kolokuma in the Niger Delta. But moresignificant is the ordering of the lineages in a prescribed order of precedence orseniority at the yengidie ceremony as follows: Burudani, Egbedani, Abadani,Isedani, Osumadani, Opoidani and Egbebiridani. It is stated that Ofodani is animaginary dani created in memory of the last son of Kolokumaowei who had diedyoung. Opoidani is also no longer in existence, having migrated to Apoi (East);and Egbebiridani is also believed to have disappeared in a catastrophe or absorbedinto other dani. The pre-eminent position accorded Burudani apparently derives

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from the fact that priests of the Kolokuma Egbesu were chosen form this lineagefrom the time of settlement at Orubou. In recent times priests have come from thesettlements of Oloubiri and Foubiri. Similarly, according to Owonaro (1949: 20,23), Egbedani owed its second place ranking to the fact that priests of the god,Okpotu, ‘one of the principal (if not the chief) idols’ of the Kolokuma was chosenfrom the lineage. There are indications that the worship of Okpotu, indeed,preceded the ascendancy of Kolokuma Egbesu.

2. OpokumaOpokuma traditions run parallel to those of Kolokuma, Opokumaowei orOpu-Okun, being the senior brother of Kolokumaowei or Kala-Okun. Indeed,Opokumaowei moved out of Agadagbabou and the Igbedi Creek into the Nunahead of the Kolokuma. Opokumaowei first settled at Ofonitoru, but later foundedthe principal town of the group, which eventually took the name of his giant son,Oko, as Okowari. Variant traditions credit the foundation of Okowari to anotherson of Opokumaowei, named Ise.In the course of time, the Opokuma are said to have been joined on the Nun byimmigrants from Ikibiri in Ekpetiama to establish Akaranbiri, and others fromOyakiri (Ibeni) to found Gbanranbiri. Other immigrants from Ogobiri Mein aresaid to be responsible for the establishment of Oyobu. Going by Newington(1938), it would appear that the first god worshipped by the Opokuma wasEgbelekwe, which they eventually abandoned for Opokuma Egbesu.

3. Gbaran (Gbarain)According to Gbaran traditions, each of Gbaranowei’s sons founded the towns ofOkotiama, Ogboloma, Agbia, Okolobiri, Koroama, Obinagha, Nedugo, andPolaku. Polaku at the mouth of the Taylor Creek was probably settled only afterJuly 18, 1854, when Baikie (1856:39-40) named the Creek after a member of hiscrew, Taylor who mistook it for the River Nun, and directed the ship into it. As atthen they did not report a village at the site where Polaku now stands.The worship of Gbaran Ziba serves as a unifying force in Gbaran. In every Julythey gather at Okotiama to celebrate the first fruits festival, uziye, and a fishingfestival at the pond, Odoidi.

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4. ZaramaThe Zarama community in the Yenagoa Local government Area occupy the

interior part of the Taylor Creek along with the Okordia, and Buseni, possibly

prior to the arrival of the Gbaran who occupy the rest of the creek outwards to its

mouth. The Zarama dialect is related to Engenni, and is classified Delta Edoid

along with Epie–Atissa and Degema/Udekama.

5. Okordia (Akita)

This small community along the Taylor Creek in the Yenagoa Local Government

Area of Bayelsa State is classified as Inland Ijo along with Buseni and Oruma.

According to Newington (1938), Akida, the founder of Okordia, migrated from

Ado (Benin) to Nembe, to Oruma, and eventually to ‘Aguobiri the senior quarter

of Okordia’. Nembe traditions specify the site from which the migration took place

as Oboloma, an early settlement site in Nembe history (Alagoa 1999).

The opinions from the Okodia, largely agree with the external testimonies of their

origin. According to Idobozi (2000:13), an Okodia-born historian, Akida, the

founder of Okodia came from Ado (Benin) and settled at Oboloma (Ogbolomabiri,

Nembe). A disagreement arising form the sharing of the duiker pepper soup made

Akida to move to the Taylor Creek and settled at the present site of Agbobiri.

Here, Akida had four sons, namely Akumoni, Anyamabele and Ikarama. These

sons founded the four settlements of Okodia named after them. The name Okodia

itself, is believed to be an adulteration of Akida.

According to a variant tradition by the Inogula group in Okodia, it was when

settlements had already been established for many years that a second group of

people came from Oboloma, Nembe to join the first settlers. The new comers

settled at separate quarters near Agbobiri which they called Tein. After some years

the population of Tein started to dwindle very rapidly, compelling the remaining

people to desert the area for the four earlier settlements.

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6. Buseni (Biseni)

Newington (1938:11) recorded traditions claiming the founder of Buseni to be

brother ‘of the same father’ with Akida, the founder of Okodia. Nembe and Oruma

traditions similarly assign both Okodia and Buseni to the same migrations from

Oboloma through Oruma to the Taylor Creek (Alagoa 1999). In a recent study by

Okorobia (forthcoming), the Buseni traced their ancestry to an eponymous

ancestor, Biseni, who migrated from the ancient Benin kingdom. Biseni had ten

sons, each of whom established a village of his own. Ultimately, they fused into

three major settlements, namely Tuburu, (established by Biseni’s first son),

Egbebiri (established by Biseni’s second son), and Tein.

Presently, the Biseni people occupy some seven villages: Akpide, Tuburu,

Egbebiri 1 and II, Akodonu (Akionu), Uturuama, Otein I and II, and Kilama.

Tuburu is the traditional headquarters of the group.

7. Ekpetiama

Traditions at Ekpetiama in the Yenagoa Local Government Area begin with the

cliché of Ado/Benin origin, but it was itself the location of a major dispersal centre

named in various versions as Opuanbou, Opuanbiri, Isomabou/Isomobou, or by

the name of one of its offshoots, Ikibiri. Pressure from Tarakiri (East), in

particular, of Oweikorogha, apparently triggered some of the migrations out of the

area. According to some traditions, sons of the founder, Ekpetiamaowei, moved

out of Opuanbou to establish Tombia, Bumodi, Agudama, Akabiri and

Gbarantoru.

Other migrants of Ekpetiama are claimed to have founded Seinbiri ibe in Delta

State, Tombia (in the Kalabari area of Rivers State), Swali and Onopa in

Epie-Atissa, Assay (in Isoko), and Okiri/Umoru (in Aboh), Delta State.

The Ekpetiama group is held together by these inter-locking traditions of origin,

and by their common worship of Amadosu with shrines at Tombia and Bumodi.

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8. Boma (Bumo) The popular Obiama dispersion centre is claimed by the Bumo of Southern Ijawlocal Government Area as their place of origin. The founders of Bumo andTarakiri (East), believed to be sons of Obi, migrated from Obiama in theneighbouring Okoroma area of the Nembe Local Government Area, to establishtheir separate communities.

Bumo had twelve sons who are credited with the establishment of the twelvecomponent towns of Bumo. However, in the course of time, new immigrants wereincorporated into the group. For example, Peremabiri is said to have beenestablished by a son of Okoroma in the Nembe Local Government Area, whileIkianbiri is also claimed to have been founded by an immigrant from Ogboin ibe.

The Oruokolo (Kolobie) community in Brass Local Government Area, are said tobe migrants from Bumo. From Igbematoru, migrants also went toKamatoru/Sangana, while from Ekowe/Ekeu in Bumo; migrants went to establishEkowe ( in Isoko, Delta State).

Bumo towns developed individual religious contacts with neighbouring

communities such as the cult of Ekine at Seibiri (now Opuama) related to Ogidiga

the national god of Nembe.

9. Bassan (Basan)

The Basan of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area is a group with disparate

traditions of origin, evidenced also by the diversities of dialect. Thus, ‘Gbaraun

and Koluama speak somewhat differently from the rest and from each other’.

Traditions gathered at Furupa claimed origin from ‘Arogbo-Furupa’, which is in

clear conflict with the claim of the Furupagha of Edo State that they originated

from ‘Ijo Furupagha’, that is, Bassan Furupa. The conclusion we can draw from

this is that the people of Bassan Furupa have forgotten a prior place of origin.

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Ezetu claimed Oporoma migrants; while Koluama received Ossiama

(Oyakiri/Beni) migrants; and Ukubie claimed Iselema (Itsekiri) migrants through

Lobia/Lubia. On the other hand, Lobia/Lubia received migrants from Okpoama in

the Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, and Lobia itself established

the offshoot settlements of Azuzuama and Akparatubo. On the other hand, Ekeni

claims kinship ties with Ke in the Degema Local Government Area of Rivers

State, and possibly with Beletiema, Egwema and Oruokolo (Kolobie) in Brass

Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

Plate 20.2: Bronze canine skulls from Okpoama

The Bassan have been generally reported to be particularly proficient as

middlemen in the internal trade across the Niger Delta between the Itsekiri of the

Western Delta and the Nembe and Kalabari of the Eastern Delta. They distributed

in the Eastern Delta, Itsekiri pots and cassava meal, farina/ifenia, in the

seventeenth century. The Bassan were also expert at the manufacture of salt, Ijo or

Bassan fu, (the Ijo or Bassan salt) manufactured from the aerial roots of the red

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mangrove, a variety of salt in great demand in the internal long distance trade

across the length and breadth of the Niger Delta.10. Apoi (East)The Apoi/Kalasuo Creek area in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area was amajor dispersal centre. Each of the Apoi settlements has a different tradition oforigin. The settlement identified as Apoi was originally composed of nine wards,including Ogboinbou, Apoi, Okotoaza, Umgboluama, and Inikorogha. Apoi wasestablished by Kalasuo, whose sons are also credited with the foundation ofKemebiama, Kokologbene, Ogboinbiri, Sampou and Azama.

Gbaraun, the largest settlement in the group, and which is composed of Egbesubiri,Kapabiri, and Aguobiri, claims origin from Oporoma, and eventually absorbed theremnants of the old settlements of Igwebiri, Umgboluama, and Inikorogha.

The Apoi area has come to gain great reputation as a centre of dispersion becauseof the many communities that claim origins from the area. For instance, Aguobiri(Tarakiri-East) was established by migrants from Aguobiri (Gbaraun, Apoi); justas Opu-Akassa was founded by migrants from Kassama (Apoi). Similarly, thepeople of Apoi (West) in Ondo State claim that their ancestors came fromOkotoaza and Umgboluama wards of Apoi town (Apoi East). Again, the Arogboof Ondo State and the Gbaranmatu of Delta State claim origins from Gbaraun townin Apoi (East). In the process of these outward migrations from Apoi, they alsogave their Egbesu cult to Arogbo as wells as their Oborowe cult to the Apoi(West).

Like the Bassan, the Apoi served as middlemen in the trans-Niger Delta trade. Forcanoes in the Western Delta Fringe (Kolomotoru) in Delta and Ondo States, theyexchanged local salt and fish, and had similar commercial intercourse withcommunities eastwards as far as Bonny in Rivers State.

11. Oporoma (Oporomo)The headquarters of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, Oporoma, was a

major dispersal centre in the Central Delta. Both Ekeremo (Operemo, Oporoma) in

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Ekeremor Local Government Area, and Olodiama (East) in Southern Ijaw Local

Area, claim to have originated from Oporoma. Porter (1931:7) a colonial

administrator who was the earliest to document Oporoma traditions, records a

tradition that the founder of Oporoma had ‘dropped from a cloud’’. Recent

traditions claim that the founder came from Ado (Benin). Both traditions are

indications that the Oporoma do not remember a prior place of origin. The

different wards or constituents of Oporoma were believed to have been established

by the sons of Oporoma, the eponymous ancestor. Recent accounts from Angiama

claim that its founder was the father of Oporoma. They cite their drum praise

name, ‘Agi Oporoma’ as evidence.

The shrine of the war god of Oporoma, Boupere, is located at Osokoma, which is

also the home of the first priest, Osoko, son of Oporoma.

12. Tarakiri (East)

Eastern Tarakiri has been described as ‘a comparatively hard-to-reach group’ in

Southern Ijaw Local Government Area by Alagoa (1999:86). Going by traditions

at Tarakiri, they originated from the Obiama dispersion centre, together with the

Boma, many settlements in Brass, Nembe and Ogbia, Local Government Areas.

Oweikorogha, an ancient Tarakiri town is also said to have attacked the dispersal

centre of Isomabou (Ikibiri, Ekpetiama) with firearms supplied by either Nembe

and/or Kalabari middlemen. All the settlements making up the group are said to

have been established by sons of Tarakiriowei; with Obelele (Obololi) being the

‘senior village’, hosting the shrine of Ayama Ziba their group cult (Newington

1938:9-12). Ayama (or Anyama) is the only reported case of outward migration

from the Tarakiri (East) group to Abadani in the Kolokuma area.

13. Ogboin

Ogboin, the founder of the Ogboin clan in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area,

is said to have originated from Ado (Benin). Recent accounts named his place of

origin to be Orubiribaubolou, inside a creek north of Otuan. His sons are said to

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have come out of the creek to establish Otuan, Amassoma and Ogbono in (Delta

State). It was from Amassoma that Amatolo was established by someone described

as the grandson of Ogboin. External pressures from the Kolokuma, Tungbo, Yenaka (in Epie-Atissa), Akede(in Oyakiri/Beni), and Nembe, in form of wars, helped to unite the competingtowns of Ogboin together. The national deity of Ogboin, symbolized by theOgboin (mango) tree had ‘moved from Otuan to Amassoma’ (Newington1938:12). The Ogboin have given birth to a number of other communities nowlocated both within and outside Bayelsa State. Oko, son of Alumu, son of Oboro(founder of Amassoma), son of Ogboin, is reported to have migrated to Okrikamainland where he established one of the most ancient settlements in the Okrikakingdoms in Rivers State, named after him as Okopiri (or Okochiri). Othermigrants also went from Otuan to Ikianbiri, Boma.

14. TungboThe founder, Tungboowei, is stated to have come from the Ogbia town ofOtuokpoti. His neighbours were the Mein, but he sought an isolated place. He wasunable to escape kidnappers even in his creek location, but managed to establish acommunity. The protective deity, Akpolokia, was apparently found in the bushbehind the settlement. The Tungbo speak a distinctive Ijo dialect.

15. Olodiama (East)According to Porter (1931:9) and Alagoa (1999:87) the traditions of Olodiama ofSouthern Ijaw Local Government Area derived the founder, Olode/Olodi fromOporoma. His sons founded Ondewari, Olugbobiri, and Ikeinghabiri; and hisgrandson founded Ikebiri. Ekpa, founder of Korokorosei, was, however, said tohave come from Patani (Kabo). Olodiama (West) in Edo State also derived theirfounders from Ikebiri, Ondewari, and Olugbobiri.

One institution that confirms the link between the two Olodiama groups east andwest is the cult of Egbesu. This cult also links them with Ekeremo (Operemo),another group with traditions of migration from Oporoma. Again, traditions amongthe Olodiama (East) have it that the priests of Boupere in Oporoma used to pay

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annual pilgrimage to the shrine of Olodiama Egbesu at Ikebiri, the place at whichthe founder of Obotebe in Delta State also learnt to worship Egbesu (Alagoa1999:88).

16. NembeThe Nembe developed city state institutions of the type identified in Bonny, ElemKalabari and Okrika in the Eastern Delta. These centralized institutions made themthe centres of attraction for the visiting European traders in slaves and later palmproduce.

Early migrants came from the dispersal centre of Obiama led by Olodi, believed tobe the senior (Alagoa 1964: 126). Others were Obolo and Onyo. These three established Olodiama, Oboloma and Onyoma, the most important of the six orseven wards, which ultimately became part of the Nembe metropolis. Outside themetropolis, the towns of Twon, Okpoama, Odioma, Egwema, Beletiema andLiama, among others (in the Brass Local Government Area) also have traditions ofearly settlement by Ijo-speaking people from the dispersal centre of Obiama.

In its second period of development, a group of Itsekiri migrants, (described in the oral traditions as immigrants from Benin) arrived with Ogidiga, a war god, and asacred sword, ada. The new arrivals were settled at the Oromabiri quarter of themetropolis. Their Ogidiga cult eventually provided the means of unifying all thecomponent communities of the city-state through religious ties and sanctions.

A third group of migrants came from the Abureni (Mini) area to the immediatenorth- east of Nembe metropolis. They are credited with the establishment of theunited Nembe kingdom through the instrumentality of Kala Ekule, who issometimes described as ‘son’ or descendant of Olodi, the founder of Olodiama.From thenceforth a single line of kings ruled the metropolis until about the 17thcentury, when as a result of an un-reconciled succession dispute, the kingdom wassplit into two. While King Ogbodo, the last Amanyanabo of the united Nembekingdom crossed over to the Bassambiri moiety of the metropolis and establishedhis rule over the eastern half of the kingdom, his cousin, Mingi, took over the

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western half with his headquarters at Ogbolomabiri. This marked the dawn of thedual monarchical system in Nembe political history. In spite of the split, however,the Nembe are known in the course of their long history, to have acted in unity,especially when their collective interest or destiny was threatened.

Plate 20.3:A terracota figurine from Onyoma, Nembe,

possibly representing a priest king, Onyoma pere:

The Nembe accumulated wealth and power in the period of the trans-Atlantic tradeduring which its contacts with its neighbours in the Niger Delta, especially in theOgbia and Ijo communities along the River Nun and Ekole Creek, and up theRiver Niger were expanded. Its influence within the present Nembe, Brass and tosome extent, Ogbia Local Government Areas was also considerably increased. The

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demand and challenges of the Trans-Atlantic trade also brought Nembe intocommercial, diplomatic and cultural relations with her Eastern Ijo neighbours, theBille, Kalabari, Ibani (Bonny), and Okrika, as well as into competition for tradingareas along the Orashi, and up the River Niger to Aboh, Onitsha and Idah. 17. Okoroma

The Okoroma ibe in Nembe Local Government Area represents a group of

communities with traditions of origin relating them to Ogbia, but with very

intimate historical relations with Nembe. This explains why most Okoroma

people now speak Nembe as their first language and only speak Ogbia as a second

language. According to traditions recorded at Ologoama (Otokoroma), the founder

of the group was a son of Ogbia, who migrated with his father from Benin through

Iselema (Warri), to Ogbia n’Otokolo (Ogbia island) on the Brass River. And that

it was from there that he eventually moved northwards and established

Otokoroma, re-named Ologoama by Nembe traders after Ologo, son of Okoroma.

The Okoroma affiliations to Ogbia are with the Ayama and Oloibiri groups and

not to the Kolo group. In addition, most of the settlements now listed as Okoroma

were founded in the nineteenth century by Nembe merchant princes such as the

Tereke settlements and Dogu-Ewoama (Alagoa1999:90).

18. Akassa (Akaha)

Going by oral traditions gathered from the Akassa (in the Brass Local Government

Area), their ancestor, La, migrated from Kassama in Apoi (East). La is said to have

settled at Opu-Akassa on the east bank of the Nun River estuary. However, by the

next generation, the Opu-Akassa migrants decided to cross to the west bank which

became the centre of Akassa expansion. The descendants of La from Apoi were

later joined by fresh migrants from the neighbouring Boma community of

Igbematoru. This latter group eventually settled at Kamatoru, popularly known as

Sangana.

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The Akassa-Ijo dialect is similar to Nembe. That is why linguists (Efere and

Williamson 1999) have often labelled the two dialects together as ‘Nembe-Akassa’

dialect of Ijo. Nevertheless, the Akassa maintain many strong cultural links with

their places of origin in the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area and their

distinct identity and autonomy.An Evaluation of the TraditionsWe base our analysis on Alagoa’s (1972) systematic investigation, documentationand publication of the views of the Ijo people themselves.

A number of conclusions can be drawn. First the only places outside the NigerDelta cited by the local traditions as places of Ijo origins are Benin, Aboh, Awkaand Ile-Ife. For groups in the Central Niger Delta, we have the single case of theOporoma, whose people claim that they are autochthonous, that is, that theirfounding ancestors ‘came down from heaven’. As for the widespread claims to Benin as a place of origin by some Ijo groups inthe Central Delta, we can only conclude that such claims are merely a reflection ofthe desire of the claimants to share in the enormous prestige of the Benin kingdom,and its influence over some of the mainland parts of the Niger Delta. As forOwonaro, who popularised the claim that Ile-Ife was the place of Ijo origin, wecan only state that he was persuaded to do so on realising that even Benin hadclaimed Ile-Ife as a place of origin for their kings. Eboreime (1992) and Banigo(2006) have described the origin of this hypothesis as the crystallization of Ijocultural nationalism by some Lagos-based Ijo elites who had come in contact withthe pan-Yoruba cultural organisation, Egbe Omo Oduduwa (whichmetamorphosed into the Action Group), as a strategy to forge an alliance with apowerful political group against the Igbo domination in the Eastern Region.Outside Benin and Ife, Aboh was another place of prestige within parts of theCentral Niger Delta. In this case, there is some credible evidence of actualhistorical contacts, but these contacts did not reach the level of providing foundingpopulations, beyond supplying small numbers of immigrants. This was the mostlikely role also for the itinerant Awka blacksmiths (Alagoa 1999:92).

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The oral traditions of the Ijo groups in the Central Delta suggest that because theyhave been in the area for so long it is no longer possible for them to remember theexact places they had come from, or when they came to be where they are. Theycan only recall aspects of their sojourn that indicate migrations within the deltafrom one point to another. And here the following places have been identified asprimary and secondary centres out of which migrations took place in the CentralDelta:(i) The Wilberforce Island on which Ogobiri (Mein), Amassoma (Ogboin) and

Agudama, Bumodi and Ikibiri (Ekpetiama) stand. This island is the locationof the ancient abandoned sites of Agadagbabou of the Kolokuma andOpokuma, and Isomabou and Opuanbiri of the Ekpetiama and other groups

(ii) Oporoma and its environs.(iii) The Apoi Creek region in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area close to

the coast.(iv) The site of Obiama in the Okoroma area of Nembe Local Government Area

bordering both Southern Ijaw and Ogbia Local Government Areas.

Other locations that may be classified as secondary dispersal centres are Obolomain Nembe metropolis as well as Oruma and Ebala in the Ogbia Local GovernmentArea.

The unrivalled historical linguistic studies of Williamson (1988:95), have providedsupport for the above conclusions. Her studies have shown that Ijo is a distinctlanguage and developed within the Niger Delta over a period of not less than 7,000years.

Other disciplines allied to history such as palynology and archaeology have alsoprovided concrete evidence which indicate that the Ijo of the Central Delta havebeen in continued occupation and exploitation of their present environment for along time. For example, palynological evidence of farming obtained from corestaken from Ofuabo Creek in Nembe by Sowunmi (1988:46) has shown that theNembe area was probably occupied by about 2,800 Years Before Present.Similarly, the archaeological investigations in the Central Delta have also provided

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early dates. For instance, Onyoma in Nembe, produced dates ranging from AD1275-AD 1845; Saikiripogu at Okpoama/Ewoama, gave dates ranging from AD1000-AD 1600; while Agadagbabou on Wilberforce Island, has produced evidencedated to the period AD 1640-AD 1730. Koroama in Gbaran provided artifactsdating back to the 17th century AD. Socio-Political OrganisationThe Ijo of the Central Delta evolved three forms of socio-political organisationdictated mainly by environmental and historical forces. The three forms ofsocio-political organisations were the fishing-cum-farming village system, thefishing village political system and the trading state political system (Alagoa 1970and 1972).

The Fishing-cum-Farming Village SystemThe farming/fishing village system is prevalent among the Central Deltacommunities in the freshwater zone, while those in the saltwater zone developedthe fishing village political system. The lineage, wari or polo, was the primarysocial and political unit within the farming/fishing village political system of thefreshwater delta, since it was through the lineage that a man derived access tofarmland and fish ponds. All adult males met in the village assembly, amagula, totake decisions on political issues. The oldest member of the village, amaokosowei,presided. There was, however, a younger man appointed largely on the basis ofmerit, for his persuasiveness and gift of oratory, to act in an executive capacity, asspokesman, ogulasowei. In ritual matters the village priest, orukarowei, tookprecedence. Unity among member villages of an ibe was built on the ideologicalfoundations of culture, history and religion. The unity of the ibe was conceived inthe areas of culture through the use of a common dialect of Ijo; history through thebelief in a common ibe ancestor; and religion through the worship of a commontutelary deity, whose priest, the pere, presided at the ibe festivals. The pere alsoresolved inter-village disputes and protected fugitives from local injustice at hisshrine. At the bottom line, the village, and within the village, the lineage,wari/polo, remained the basic institutions of the political culture of thecommunities of the freshwater area of the Central Delta Ijo.

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The Fishing Village Political SystemThe change to the salt water swamp environment, and consequently, to a fishingand salt-making economy by the Nembe resulted in decisive changes in theirsocio–political organisation, although the same did not happen in every instance.The fishing villages of the Nembe area still had its village assembly, ama-kobiri,

but it was no longer presided over by its oldest member. The president was

re-named amanyanabo, meaning ‘the owner of the town’, and he had to be chosen

from the lineage that established the village. The offices of the spokesman and

priesthood of the community deity were retained, although the lineage no longer

exercised as great an authority on the individual since the fishing grounds on

which his livelihood depended came to him through his membership of the village,

rather than of a particular lineage. Nevertheless, the bond of common ancestry was

weaker than in the farming/fishing village. Accordingly, the fishing village in the

Nembe area developed additional institutions for cementing solidarity among its

members.

The cultural criteria for belonging to the villages as for the wider Nembe

community were strengthened. The scarcity of settlement land in its saltwater

environment gave the founding lineage monopoly over the office of amanyanabo.

Supporting ideology was created in the cult of the settled earth, amakiri. The

corporate spirit of the village embodying its history, character and destiny was also

celebrated in amatemesuo. These spiritual entities did not, however, take

precedence over the village deity, amanyana-oru. They only reinforced the sense

of mystical solidarity within the village in its struggles of survival in an inclement

environment and against unfriendly neighbours. There were other social

institutions like the association of mask dancers, Ekine/Sekiapu, and the warriors’

club, peri ogbo, which provided fora for the achievement of social status based on

merit without reference to lineage or birth.

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Although the fishing village was autonomous in all its internal affairs and in

relations with neighbouring villages within the ibe, it was expected to cooperate

with others within the ibe in relations with external neighbours. It was the opening

for leadership of the ibe that the city-state rose to fill. It was, apparently, their

pre-existing qualities for leadership that drove them to make the choices to

develop the institutions of the city state.The City-State Socio-Political OrganisationMany of the elements of the fishing village socio-political organisation

characterised the city states. As their success in the internal and external long

distance trade made them richer, bigger, and more powerful, the fishing village

institutions were radically transformed and additional ones created as the need

arose. First, the internal trade, and even more, the trans-Atlantic trade, greatly

increased the field of external policy, and therefore, the competence of the

amanyanabo as the official spokesman in external affairs. This transformed the

office of amanyanabo into an effective executive authority in the city-state.

Second, the wari (house) became more or less a trading corporation in addition to

other functions appropriate to its continued operation as a lineage institution. The

criteria for the selection of a new-head, wari-dabo, were focussed on the ability of

the candidate to increase the wealth and power of the wari. Since the lineage head

was now leader of a commercial organisation, he also became the head recruiting

agent, recruiting new members to increase the labour and fighting force to protect

trading canoes and trading posts in the hinterland markets, and to contribute forces

in defence of the city-state. The new House system, which at this stage had

become a ‘war canoe house,’ omungu-aru wari, gave the head greater control over

the lives of members than the lineage head of the fishing village even though the

ordinary member also had a say in the affairs of the house, and indirectly, in the

state, through his right to vote a head in a general meeting of the house for that

purpose. Here, then, we find that while the individual had direct participation in

affairs of his house, the village assembly of all adult males was no longer operative

on a routine basis. In its place, the amanyanabo was advised directly only by a

council of chiefs (house heads). In other ways, the function of institutions such as

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the Ekine/Sekiapu and Peri Ogbo which cut across the entire community acquired

an even greater significance in the city-state in the context of inter-house rivalries.

They now served to hold the community together, and to acculturate the growing

number of newcomers recruited by purchase, capture, or otherwise from other

communities within and outside the Niger Delta.

The Ijo city-states of the Niger Delta evolved from about 1200 AD. Theestablishment of the houses as trading corporations would date to a time after themonarchy. The evidence left behind by early European visitors from around 1500already shows all the ingredients of the house trading system. Among the Nembe,the Peresuo House, which is considered the oldest surviving house is dated to onlyabout 1600, although the period of the full development of the house as a tradingcorporation came in the nineteenth century, shortly before British colonialism.

The Atlantic Trade The Atlantic Trade era is one of the best remembered in the popular history of theIjo, particularly among the Nembe and the Eastern Delta Ijo groups of Kalabari,Okrika and Ibani. This is based on the fact that most of the social and politicalinstitutions for which the Nembe and the other eastern Ijo groups have come to beidentified were developed to their highest level in the heydays of the trans-Atlantictrade in slaves, and later, oil palm produce. This was also a period in which thesestates enjoyed a measure of comparative advantage as middlemen between theoverseas visitors and the people of the Nigerian hinterland.

Discussions bordering on the role of the Ijo of the Central Delta and their role in

the Atlantic Trade have often emphasized the fact that, outside of Nembe land the

rest were involved, only as pirates. Recent studies indicate, however, that the role

of the Central Delta Ijo in the overseas trade was more than piracy. That the Ijo of

the Niger Delta played some role beyond piracy has been documented by a number

of local writers. Frank-Opigo (1980:159) has, for example, established, that even

though much of the trading and missionary activities that were carried out at the

time were confined to the coastal towns of Bonny, Elem-Kalabari and

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Twon-Brass, some Central Delta Ijo communities like Angiama also participated

in both the slave and legitimate trade, especially in the 19th century. The Mein

group of communities have also been identified as being among those which

played some role in the Atlantic trade, particularly in the slave trade. Alagoa

(1986:31) records a tradition among the Kabo which suggest that they lost their

control of the slave trade on the Forcados River to the Mein group as a result of a

rumour, that some European slave raiders were planning to sail up the river to

capture whoever they saw. There are strong reasons to believe that other Central

Delta Ijo groups like the Bassan, Olodiama and Apoi also participated in the trade.

Indeed, there are Nembe traditions which indicate that the Bassan in particular,

established strong ties with the Nembe city-state. The Bassan also formed what

may be termed a confederation of communities to enhance their participation in

the Atlantic trade. They were among the key suppliers or distributors of goods

produced by themselves, and those they had purchased from their Western Delta

trading associates. Some of the large canoes used by the Nembe merchants were

also bought from this area. Agedah (1984: 45-47) states that ‘palm oil from the

Kolokuma area was exported to the coastal ports of Brass (Nembe) and Akassa,

where it was sold to the European merchants’. He adds, however, that the principal

carriers of the Kolokuma palm produce were not the Kolokuma themselves, but

traders from Nembe. The works of Forcados (1984), Agedah (1984), and Ekiyor

(1984), among some Izon groups, indicate that there was virtually no group in the

Central Niger Delta that was not affected by the Atlantic trade, or did not

participate in it, directly or indirectly. Some of these groups were among the major

suppliers of the palm produce, and to some extent slaves, which the Nembe

middlemen sold to the European supercargoes.

Taking all Central Delta Ijo communities into account, then, it is possible to

categorise them into three groups. First, there were those which acted as agents,

supplying either slaves or palm produce which the coastal middlemen sold to the

European super-cargoes. The majority of Central Delta Ijo communities fall into

this category, including the Kolokuma, the Opokuma, the Ogboin, the Mein, the

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Bumo, etc; and lastly, we have the Nembe (Ogbolomabiri, Bassambiri, Okpoama

and Twon) which acted as the middlemen, and were the most deeply involved in

the Atlantic trade. In the Central Delta, it is possible to isolate communities falling

in-between these categories, and those which produced the much misunderstood

‘pirates’ that disturbed the direct beneficiaries of the Atlantic trade.

In chronological terms, the Central Delta Ijo started having contacts with theEuropeans from the late 15th century (Kimble, 1937:132). The Portuguese werethe first to come. The English became dominant from about the second half of the18th century. Most Central Delta Ijo outside of Nembe served mainly as suppliersof slaves and other items, either through Nembe or Itsekiri merchants. Some of theslaves are reported to have come from as far as Idah and Nupe in NorthernNigeria; usually transported through Aboh and Onitsha down the Niger to theForcados, Nun and Brass Rivers.

The assumption that all slaves exported through the ports of the Central Deltanamely, Twon and Akassa, had come from the hinterlands has, however, beenproved wrong. Recent findings (Alagoa 1986; Okorobia 1999) have revealed thatsome of the slaves and other legitimate items of trade marketed by the Ijo hadactually come from within Ijoland itself. The evidence for this has been found indifferent parts of the Central Delta. The traditions of some of the communities aswell as their locations away from the major river courses, particularly on the CapeFormosa Island between the Brass and Nun Rivers tell a lot of the story. Here, theBeletiema, Egwema and Liama communities which now stand on the FormosaCreek, linking the Brass and Nun Rivers, according to popular traditions, wereoccupied only recently. The people still keep their main shrines and otherreligio-cultural artefacts in the original settlements, namely, Beletiema-Amaogbo,Egwema-Amaogbo and Liama-Amaogbo, situated in the heart of the island. It isapparent, that the rationale for the earlier location of the communities away fromthe main river was to escape the attention of slave traders, particularly fromNembe.

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There is evidence from the Americas of the presence of Ijo slaves. Marooncommunities like Boni and Brosi in Guiana, as well as the Calabaris in Surinamsuggest Niger Delta connections: Bonny/Ibani, Brass/Nembe, Kalabari (Smith,Robertson and Williamson 1987). Similarly, the high number of Ijo words in theBerbice Dutch language of Guiana in South America, confirms that some Ijopeople were sold and transported to the West Indies. It was not every slave boughtby the Nembe that was exported. Some of the slaves were retained as part of thesociety, thereby making the area a ‘melting pot’ of cultures.The slave trade went on from about 1500 to 1807 when it was officially outlawed,mainly for economic reasons by the British, although, in practice, it remainedactive until the 1850s (Dike 1956:52). At this time, the British had established aconsulate at Fernando Po, with John Beecroft as consul. His mandate includedamong other duties, to intervene in the affairs of the Niger Delta in ways thatwould protect and promote British interests. It also marked the dawn of the era of‘gun-boat’ diplomacy in the relationship between the Ijo middlemen and theEuropean supercargoes.

Soon, a consulate was also established at Twon and treaties were signed with thechiefs of Nembe and other Central Delta Ijo communities. The Brass and NunRivers began to attract many ‘legitimate’ traders who wanted to share in the newopportunities available there. Again by 1870, a court of equity was established atTwon. The court was initially meant to be an instrument for resolving tradedisputes between the Central Delta merchants and the European supercargoes. Inthe course of time however, the court became an instrument for eroding andundermining the powers and dignity of the local monarchs. By this time also, theEuropeans were making headway in their effort at breaking the monopoly of Ijomiddlemen by shifting their interest from the coast to the interior. This move hadactually begun with the ‘discovery’ by the Lander brothers, John and RichardLander, that the River Niger empties its waters into the Atlantic Ocean through theNun, Brass and its other channels in the Central Delta.

The eventual destruction of the monopoly of the Ijo, particularly Nembemiddlemen, was sealed, when in 1854, Dr. William B. Baikie, a naval doctor,Captain of the ‘Plaide’, using quinine as prophylactic against malarial parasites,

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successfully explored the Niger up to Lokoja on the Benue River and this threwthe trade open to European trade (Ejituwu 1999:201).Although this event was adrawback to the Nembe middlemen, it was a great gain to some Central Deltacommunities like Kaiama on the Nun River and Patani on the Forcados River .Kaiama came into the picture when, in 1832, King Amaran rescued RichardLander, who was captured by some men of Odi (Owonaro 1949:27). King Amaranpaid the ransom money demanded and was duly rewarded by the British with anallowance of 20 cases of gin, which were later changed to an annual subsidy of£12 (Owonaro 1949:28; Ejituwu 1999:202). Again, according to Owonaro (1949:28), in about 1859, King Amaran similarly rescued the ‘Rainbow’ from the peopleof Kaiama who had seized it and its cargoes, and eventually sent it to theEuropeans at Akassa. Kaiama also attracted local Aboh traders. For instance, in1854, some men of Sampou captured and enslaved two women from Aboh andKing Osai reported it to King Amaran who succeeded in getting one of the womenreleased (Owonaro 1949: 28). By this unique ability to host foreign merchants andprovide link between the Central Delta and hinterland, Kaiama gained prominence,playing a positive role beyond the general characterization of the Ijo as ‘pirates’(Ejituwu 1999:202). With time, Kaiama expanded rapidly and became importantas an entrepot between Nembe and the hinterland.

With their success in bypassing the Nembe middlemen, there followed a period ofunhealthy competition among the European traders themselves until 1879, whenthe companies were amalgamated by Taubman Goldie, into a conglomerate, theNational African Company, (NAC).The company opened trading centres atYenagoa and Sabagreia (Sorgwe 1990), with their headquarters at Bekekiri,Akassa. They also imposed the conditions of trade. However, Goldie was notinterested in trade alone, he also wanted to administer the territory, and so secureda charter from the British Government to ensure his control over the area. This hegot in 1886, changing the company’s name to Royal Niger Company (RNC).

The RNC built some 20 ‘gun-boats’ of light shaft to enable them navigate theshallow waters of the Niger all year round with a view to silencing anyopposition. This policy could not, however, silence opposition from the Ijopeople. In 1882, for instance, the company’s factories at Twon, Akassa and Patani

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were attacked (Dike, 1956: 212). Earlier in 1832, Richard Lander had died from agun-shot wound he sustained from some Angiama people, and was buried inFernando Po. In 1895, frustrations from the company’s trade monopoly led theNembe people to invade the RNC station at Akassa. For their attack on the RNC,the colonial forces struck back at the Nembe in reprisal. The Akassa War exposedthe injustice of the company and led to the withdrawal of the charter of the RNC in1900; and the withdrawal of the charter led to the effective British take-over of thearea which they had since 1885 declared a protectorate.On the whole then, we may conclude that the Atlantic Trade in particular was a

great catalyst in its impact on the land and people of the Central Delta,

economically. According to Alagoa (1964:76), Kings Kulo of Ogbolomabiri and

Mein of Bassambiri were the first on the Brass River to receive comey, an official

duty which every European firm or trader had to pay before being granted the

permission to do business. The wealth accumulated by some of the merchant

chiefs was sometimes large enough to build prefabricated mansions. Some persons

of servile background were able to acquire new chieftaincy titles and build up their

own houses (wari); while some who were already chiefs, used such wealth to

buy-over or capture other less progressive chieftaincy houses. In the Izon

communities where some of the leading Nembe middlemen had local agents to

help-out in their ventures, similar developments took place.

The Atlantic trade has also left its imprint on the socio-cultural life of the people of

the Central Delta. To protect their interest in the producing communities some

Nembe merchants established marriage alliances with families in these

communities. While most Bassambiri merchants established such links with the

Abureni communities of Okoroba, Idema and Agrisaba, as well as with a few

Ogbia and Odual communities; the Ogbolomabiri, according to Ebiwari (1988),

were more active in the Ogbia towns of Opume, Akipelai, Emakalakala, Oloibiri

and up the Kolo Creek and Ekole Creek.

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A fall-out of the Atlantic trade with a negative social consequence was its

acceleration of the pace of moral decadence in the trading communities. This

manifested in different forms. In one way, there was an increase in the desire to

cheat one’s trading partner, as the profit-motive gradually overwhelmed ethical

considerations. This was a problem, not just between the Europeans and Ijo traders

but also between the Ijo themselves. Some Ijo demanded and received double

‘trusts’. Others experimented with adulteration of produce and the use of false

measures. In the area of communication, the Nembe-Ijo dialect was raised from being a localdialect to become a commercial lingua-franca in the Central Delta. Later in the late19th and early 20th centuries, following the introduction of Christianity andwestern education, and the leading role some Nembe sons and daughters played inthe spread of the gospel and Western education in the Central Delta, theNembe-Ijo dialect also came to be used in the churches and schools.

The foreign trade era also witnessed in the Central Delta the creation of newfashion styles for different categories of people particularly in the Nembe area.The new styles were initially designed to identify the class or social category towhich the wearer belonged. The categories included those of asawo (young men)who wore opu seti; the opu-asawo (gentlemen), who wore angapu; the alapu(chiefs), who wore doni; and lastly the amanyanaongu (kings), who wore ebu(Okorobia 1999:212).

The Atlantic trade era, especially the period of the slave trade, was characterisedby an atmosphere of social insecurity. This was largely the result of the intra-Deltaslave raiding activities aimed at securing victims for export. In Ogboin ibe, PreyeOkosi (1980:71) has suggested that the state of anarchy which ushered in the reignof King Okosi as Agbedi II of Amassoma may have been due to the increase in theimportation of machetes, gin, canoes and guns by the supercargoes. Thepossession of these weapons greatly disrupted the peace of the community sincethey were freely used.

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The atmosphere of social instability that characterised the foreign trade era in someCentral Delta communities, it has been found, was sometimes the result of thefailure of the ‘trust’ system, the basis on which the trade was conducted. TheNembe merchants in many cases resorted to the use of brute force to enforce theirmonopolistic regulations or, to punish individuals and communities that abused the‘trust’ system. The Ogbia town of Anyama was invaded by an Ogbolomabiri ruler,King Boy Amain in 1846, because the community abused the ‘trust’ regulation. In1870, another ruler from Ogbolomabiri, King Ockiya took a punitive expeditionagainst Okiki, an Ogbia village on the Ekole Creek for abusing the ‘trust’ system,and for killing ‘a son of Kulo’ named Akpana, who had gone to collect a debt. In1869, Okpoama launched a similar attack on Otuaganagu; while in 1873,Bassambiri invaded Otuedu for taking ‘double trust’ from other middlemen(Ebiwari, 1988). Bassambiri also raided the Abureni villages of Idema, Okorobaand Agrisaba, as well as the Odual communities, for similar reasons during theAtlantic trade.

A unique and significant development arising from trade was its impact on thepolitical status of women. While it is true that because of the generally matrilinealorientation of most Central Delta Ijo societies, women were socially influential,none had openly aspired to occupy a politically important position until the time ofthe legitimate trade. Madam Saifigha from Bassambiri aspired and moved quiteclose to becoming a chief, a house founder. Saifigha acquired sufficient wealth andslaves to launch a war canoe. But the chiefs (of Bassambiri-Nembe) rejected herapplication for recognition as an omungu-aru-alabo, a war canoe chief. Theycould only permit her to establish a war canoe house in the name of her maternalbrothers, Iga and Opuene. This had qualified her for the honour of having an okpu,mausoleum, in the joint names of herself and her brothers (Alagoa 2000).

External and Internal Colonialism As a colonised people, the Central Delta Ijo were exposed to a number of

challenges. One of the early political challenges they faced was the introduction of

the Native House Rule Proclamation of November 21, 1901. In the Nembe area,

this led to the modification of the House System into Native House Rule causing a

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reduction in the powers of the Amanyanabo and chiefs over their people. The

proclamation, among other things, provided that the colonial authorities could

handle disputes in the house, and where necessary, transfer cases from the houses

to Native Courts of their choice. The proclamation also regulated the punishment

for offences committed by erring house members. The communities were

reorganised into Native Councils which represented a system of indirect rule

through the traditional authorities. Under colonialism, the gerontocratic system in

pre-colonial times was radically modified. The British authorities now chose

leaders by criteria other than age, such as literacy and the willingness of such

persons to cooperate with them. Some of the Native Courts exercised jurisdiction

across several villages and ethnic sub-groups. For example, the Sabagreia Native

Court served Kolokuma, Opokuma, Ekpetiama, Gbaraun, Epie-Atissa and other

sub-groups. There were also the provinces, the districts and sub-districts which did

not necessarily follow ethnic lines. According to Ejituwu and Sorgwe (1999:

220-221), the inter-ethnic groupings in some cases created conflicts. In 1927, for

instance, the Epie-Atissa people complained to the Resident at Warri that they

were at a disadvantage in the Sabagreia Native Court due to the long distance they

were compelled to cover to receive justice and their inability to understand the

language spoken by the bench.

Economically, the British emphasised the need for the people to supply raw-

materials such as palm-oil, and later, palm kernels, as well as provide a market for

the products of British industries, creating a dependent consumer culture and

economy at the expense of the productive sectors of the traditional economy,

which generally emphasised the production of food crops. Taxation and monetary

economy were also introduced to replace the traditional system of revenue

mobilisation and the trade by barter system. The British also showed interest in the

exploration of crude oil which came to fruition when oil was struck at the Oloibiri

fields in the Ogbia area in 1956, and by 1958, oil was already being extracted. In

the area of ports development no new ports were developed in the Central Delta

during the colonial period, outside those of Twon and Akassa that had existed

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since pre-colonial times. In short, the development of Port Harcourt in particular,

caused the speedy decline and ultimate abandonment of the Central Delta ports. A

number of inland riverine communities however grew as trading centres within the

Central Delta, including Yenagoa.

Christianity and Western Education spread rapidly during the colonial period,

introducing a new world view among the people, challenging and alienating them

from their traditional heritage. Ejituwu and Sorgwe (1999) observed rightly that

the principle of bringing different ethnic groups together, adopted as a basic

colonial administrative technique served integrative social functions. The

Ijo-speaking people of Nembe, Akassa, Southern and Northern Ijo, the

Epie-Atissa, the Ogbia and Zarama for instance, came to see themselves as one

people, having found themselves together first in the Brass Division, and later the

Yenagoa Province.

Resistance against colonialism did not really stop even after British ‘pacification’of people and territories. They continued to attack the British and their localagents over issues like insults against local traditions, and against taxation andother impositions. Instances of these were the attack on the Brass District Residentat Igbedi in 1901; the clash with the Agbere people in 1906 and the Epie women’sattack on government establishments in and around Yenagoa in 1956.

The period of resistance passed into that of struggle for self government andindependence from colonial rule. The initial basis of the anti – colonial strugglewas the collective urge to drive away a common foe, the British imperialists.Unfortunately however, the political parties that emerged, namely the NationalCouncil of Nigeria and the Cameroon, (NCNC), the Action Group (AG) and theNorthern Peoples Congress (NPC), came to be associated mainly with the threedominant ethnic nationalities in the country, Igbo, Yoruba, and Hausa/Fulani. It is,therefore, not surprising that the 1954 Lyttelton Constitution, which was producedwith the active participation of these parties, resulted in the introduction of adistorted federal system in which the leaders were mainly interested in seizing

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control over their respective regions. The driving force of nationalism in Nigeriawas, therefore, not principally loyalty to Nigeria.

Administrative arrangements became a bone of contention between the majorityIgbo and the numerous ethnic minorities such as the Ijo, Efik, Ibibio, Ogoni,Ikwerre, Etche, Abua, Odual, and others who felt marginalised and exploited. Thepeople of the Niger Delta in particular, argued that the Yoruba-dominated Westernand the Igbo-dominated Eastern Regional Governments at Ibadan and Enugu weretoo distant from them. They therefore called for a separate province whose capitalwould be located within the Niger Delta itself. In 1942 the Ijaw (Ijo) Peoples League was formed under the leadership of ChiefHarold Dappa Biriye, to fight for the creation of a Rivers Province which theyhoped, would not only bring governmental apparatus closer to them, but wouldempower them to reddress the decades of marginalisation they had suffered underthe Igbo. This dream crystallized in 1947 when the Rivers Province was carved outfrom the Owerri and Calabar Provinces of the Eastern Region. This geo-politicalformation was composed of the Degema, Brass, Port-Harcourt, Ahoada, and OgoniDivisions. This was a significant victory as it became a prelude to the creation ofthe Rivers State in 1967. After this achievement, many sectional and ill-organisedpressure groups surfaced to clamour for greater political autonomy, including anIjaw Tribe Union (1948); Ijaw Federal Union (1949); Ijaw State Union (1950);Council of Rivers Chiefs (1953) and Rivers State Movement (1954). Most ofthese groups did not live to see their first or second anniversary. However, anall-embracing organisation, Rivers Chiefs and Peoples Conference (RCPC)emerged to lead the people in the demand for a Rivers State.

It was the RCPC, under Chief Dappa Biriye, that led the people to the 1957London Constitutional Conference to submit a memorandum for the creation ofRivers State. The chiefs made many significant points in their memorandum.

First, they argued that the people of this area shared a way of life dictated by thegeographical circumstances of the territory in which they lived, and that they were

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united by fear of neglect at the hands of a government which did not understandtheir needs, and in any case, put the needs of the interior first.

Second, when the British first came in contact with their ancestors, they madetreaties of trade and protection with them, and that these treaties were of a specialnature, and differed from the treaties made with the hinterland chiefs. Theyinsisted that, in the treaties, the British undertook to provide protection, and to dealwith foreign powers, not that the Ijo chiefs should surrender to the BritishGovernment a sovereignty which could be transferred to any other authority. Andthat, if the British Government considered it necessary to end the treaties, the Ijocommunities should be allowed to revert to their original status as independentcity-states.The aftermath of this conference was the setting up of the Henry WillinkCommission to enquire into the fears of the minorities and the means of allayingthem. At the end of its assignment, the Commission could not recommend thecreation of a new state for the people. Convinced however, that the area wasactually poor, backward and neglected, the Commission recommended theestablishment of a Niger Delta Special Area with a Niger Delta DevelopmentBoard (NDDB), without executive powers.

And so, by October 1, 1960 when Nigeria gained political independence fromBritain, the event was received with mixed feelings. While the privileged ethnicmajorities who had acquired the state apparatus and treasury from the departingBritish saw it as a thing of joy and hope, to many minority groups such as the Ijo,it was the dawn of internal colonialism.

In spite of the many obstacles on their way, the Niger Delta leaders remainedcommitted to the idea of a state of their own. Realising that the RCPC, as anon-partisan body, could not field candidates for electoral purposes, they decidedto form a political party, the Niger Delta Congress (NDC.). And to have apowerful ally with a view to having access to the national government, the leaderswent to Kaduna in August 1959 and contracted an alliance with the NorthernPeoples Congress (NPC). In the 1959 Federal Election that preceded Nigeria’s

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independence, Chief Melford O. Okilo was elected as the NDC candidate for BrassDivision. Okilo was eventually appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the PrimeMinister, Alhaji Tafawa Balewa (Opu-Ogulaya 1973).

Throughout the period of the First Republic, nothing substantial was achieved bythe NDDB, and nothing came out of the struggle for a Rivers State. Therevolutionary movement launched by Isaac Boro in 1966 indicated the level atwhich the youths of the Central Delta were frustrated by the system. The IsaacBoro declaration of a Niger Delta Republic on 14th February 1966, at the time ofthe first military seizure of power, was therefore aimed at emancipating the Ijofrom internal colonialism (Dappa-Biriye, 1995:52).

The Central Delta Ijo as part of the defunct Eastern Region, experienced many

far-reaching consequences of the Civil War 1967-70, which caused the disruption

of normal social and economic activities, loss of personal effects and lives, as well

as general deprivation. They were psychologically upset because whereas,

physically they were in Biafra their hearts were emotionally for Nigeria, where

they had looked forward to the day they would enjoy the benefits of their newly

declared Rivers State.

Boro, Owonaro and Nottingham Dick, found guilty and sentenced to death were

granted amnesty by Gowon and recruited into the Nigerian Army along with

Amangala, Nyananyo and others. As Nigerian soldiers, Boro, Amangala, and

Nyananyo gave their lives to keep Nigeria united.

For the Ijo people, the creation of Rivers State was clearly the most important

fallout of the Nigerian Civil War. Bayelsa State which came out of the Rivers State

to meet the peculiar needs of the Central Delta Ijo was a longer term consequence

of the war.

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The struggle for the actualization of Bayelsa State for the Central Delta Ijo people

was a long and tortuous one, passing through several generations and phases - the

struggle for Rivers State, the Niger Delta State, the Abayelsa State, and finally

Bayelsa State.

At creation, Bayelsa was found to be the least developed state in the Federal

Republic of Nigeria. In each of the Rivers State development plans and

programmes, from 1970 to 1st October 1996, a number of development projects

were earmarked for implementation in the area constituting Bayelsa State, some of

which were fully implemented while others were at different levels of

implementation (Ibomo, Allison-Oguru and Lazarus 1999: 259-272).

Conclusion

On the whole, we find that the Ijo of the Central Delta have remained largely a

‘poor, backward and neglected’ people even in recent times, and remain the

victims of changing forms of colonialism. The explanation for this reality is not far

to seek. First, until lately; the Ijo of this area had not built sufficient historical and

political consciousness to guide their efforts at sustainable self-development.

Second, many Central Delta Ijo sons and daughters in positions of authority have

failed, or even forgotten their communities in the developmental plans and

programmes over which they presided, be it at the local, state, national or

international levels. Third, the brazen acts of indiscipline and corruption exhibited

by the political class and their intellectual and commercial collaborators, who

wasted even the scarce resources that were available for the development of the

area; and finally, the lack of adequately designed grassroots and people-oriented

policies and programmes for the sustainable development of the sub-region.

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