The Nigerian King Who Defied The British Empire

King Jaja of Opobo

The story of King Jaja of Opobo stands as a testament to how far the British Colonial government went to achieve its aim of resource exploitation in Nigeria. However, reducing the legend of Jubo Jubogha to his travails with the British Government is unfair to the pages of history and reduces the rich, extraordinary life he lived. Today, we tell the story of how a boy moved from being a slave to the King and founder of perhaps the most prosperous Kingdom in Nigeria's Niger Delta.

Mbanaso Okwara-Ozurumba was born around 1821 at Umuduruoha in present-day Imo State. When he was 12 years old, The Aro Confederacy raided his village, kidnapped him, and sold him as a slave in the Kingdom of Bonny, present-day Rivers state, to a certain Chief Allisson. Mbanaso, however, was not your regular type of slave –he was so stubborn and insubordinate that Chief Allisson gave him away for free to another chief, Madu, who had been a slave himself before rising to become the head of Anna Pepple house of Bonny. In those days, Bonny's political class was divided into 'Houses,' formed by powerful families, with each House relying on a network of supporters to exert influence and conduct trade.

You can watch the full story on my Youtube Below.