It is obvious that unrelenting revisionists keep spreading malicious propaganda about the most famous 19th century King in the Niger Delta.

I will drop this few notes and make a full post later.

1. Jaja an Isuama Igbo arrived Bonny at age 12 around 1821. This was centuries after Bonny was already founded by the Ubani speaking Ndoki people led by Alagbariye. Around 1890 an Igbo King Pepple commemorate his father's burial(an ancient Igbo tradition) and an Elephant was gifted to him from the hinterland on that occasion(this underscores the significance of Elephant tusk 'ofo' in Igbo cosmology used by both Ubani Kings in Bonny and Opobo).

2. Decades later Jaja had become a man in Bonny under the leadership of another Igbo man named Madu. When war broke out in Bonny between the 2 major houses around 1868/9, the prosecutors of that war were Igbos mainly the Aro and their Abam accomplice(where were the Ijaws?)

3. When Jaja founded his Opobo Dynasty/Estate, THERE WAS NO Ijaw there, rather he was accompanied by friends and supporters to settle in Opobo. The Opobo idea was his clever means of averting imminent defeat in Bonny.
While Bonny and Opobo later went to war, more persons from Bonny defected to Opobo. At a point in time during the war, Jaja and his Aro complice were capturing an average of 100 men from Bonny to Opobo to be cannibalized.

4. While Jaja reign in Opobo, his army was made of the Aro, Abam, Ohafia etc. Jaja was an adherent of the Ibini Ukpabi and he defended it.

5. Till death, he was known as an Igbo chief by his European contacts.


KEY TAKEAWAYS

i.) A 12 years old Igbo boy cannot be an effective slave to any one and would have adopted the Ijaw language after he ditched his Isuama Igbo since he was very young and impressionable. A look at the attached imaged does not portray the image of a slave in the 19th century.

ii.) Jaja founded Opobo as a FREEMAN/WARLORD so the Jaja family has the exclusive Kingship right to the Opobo throne.

[quote author=9Pluto post=130007591]It is obvious that unrelenting revisionists keep spreading malicious propaganda about the most famous 19th century King in the Niger Delta.

I will drop this few notes and make a full post later.

1. Jaja an Isuama Igbo arrived Bonny at age 12 around 1821. This was centuries after Bonny was already founded by the Ubani speaking Ndoki people led by Alagbariye. Around 1890 an Igbo King Pepple commemorate his father's burial(an ancient Igbo tradition) and an Elephant was gifted to him from the hinterland on that occasion(this underscores the significance of Elephant tusk 'ofo' in Igbo cosmology used by both Ubani Kings in Bonny and Opobo).

2. Decades later Jaja had become a man in Bonny under the leadership of another Igbo man named Madu. When war broke out in Bonny between the 2 major houses around 1868/9, the prosecutors of that war were Igbos mainly the Aro and their Abam accomplice(where were the Ijaws?)

3. When Jaja founded his Opobo Dynasty/Estate.
THANK YOU!.

[quote author=eedhrisademola post=130007749][/quote]
Your notes do offer an interesting perspective on the history of the Niger Delta in the nineteenth century and the role of Jaja of Opobo in this context. The story of Jaja An Isuama Igbo, his journey from his arrival in Bonny to becoming an influential figure and founding Opobo, illustrates the complex and multi-layered relationships between different ethnic groups in the region such as the Igbo, Aro and Ijaw. Your comments highlight the importance of the cultural traditions and political maneuvers that shaped this period. It will be interesting to see a full post with more detailed analysis and historical information. Thanks for the interesting notes!