King Jaja of Opobo (full name: Jubo Jubogha; c. 1821–1891) was the founder and first king () of the

Opobo Opobo is a community in Rivers state, South South region of Nigeria that was founded in 1870 . The people of Opobo are a mixture of the Ndoki tribe, Ndoki clan of the Igbo people and the Ibani clan of the Ijaw ethnic group. Their native languages ...

Kingdom in present-day

Rivers State Rivers is a states of Nigeria, state in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria (Old Eastern Region). Formed on 27 May 1967, when it was split from the former Eastern Region, Nigeria, Eastern Region, Rivers State borders include Imo State, Im ...

and

Akwa Ibom State Akwa Ibom is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South, South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It borders Cross River State to the east, Rivers State and Abia State to the west and north-west, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. The state ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. Originally belonging to the Igbo ethnicity, he was

initiated Initiation is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense, it can also signify a transformatio ...

into the

Ijaw people The Ijaw people, also known as the Izon people, are an ethnic group found in the Niger Delta region in Nigeria, with primary Population, population clusters in Bayelsa State, Bayelsa, Delta State, Delta, and Rivers State, Rivers. They also have ...

during his time in Bonny.

Life and career

In his youth, Jaja was kidnapped from

Igboland Igbo land ( Standard ) is a cultural and common linguistic region in southeastern Nigeria which is the indigenous homeland of the Igbo people. Geographically, it is divided into two sections, eastern (the larger of the two) and western. Its popu ...

, possibly by the Aro Confederacy, and sold into

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

. He was then brought to Bonny thereafter. Jaja earned his way out of slavery after serving his master for a number of years. At the death of his master, he took charge of the trade and went on to head the Anna Pepple House merchant faction of Bonny. Under him, Annie Pepple absorbed other trade houses until a war with the Manilla Pepple House led by Oko Jumbo compelled Jaja to break away to establish Opobo Kingdom (26 miles east of Bonny) in 1869. Opobo came to be a prominent trading post in the region's

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 36% of global oils produced from o ...

trade. Jaja barred entry to European and African middlemen, effectively monopolizing

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...

, and by 1870 was selling eight thousand tons of palm oil directly to the British. Opobo also shipped palm oil directly to

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. Despite his trade rivalry with the Europeans, Jaja sent his children to schools in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

and enlisted whites to staff the secular school he built in Opobo. He barred any missionaries from entering Opobo. At the 1884

Berlin Conference The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885 was a meeting of colonial powers that concluded with the signing of the General Act of Berlin,

the Europeans designated Opobo as British territory. When Jaja refused to cease taxing the British traders, Henry Hamilton Johnston, a British vice consul, invited Jaja for negotiations in 1887. Jaja was abducted on arrival aboard a British vessel; he was tried in

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

in the Gold Coast (now

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

) then exiled, first to London, and later to Saint Vincent and

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

in the

British West Indies The British West Indies (BWI) were the territories in the West Indies under British Empire, British rule, including Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Antigua and Barb ...

. His presence in the West Indies was alleged to be the cause of civil unrest, as the people of

, of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

n descent, were upset at the poor treatment of a King from their homeland. In 1891, Jaja was granted permission to return to Opobo, but died on the way. Following his exile and death, the power of the Opobo state rapidly declined. In 1903 the King Jaja of Opobo Memorial was erected in his honour in Opobo town centre. The grave of his son, Prince Waribo, is in the churchyard at St Laurence's Church, Frodsham, Cheshire, United Kingdom. Waribo was sent to Frodsham to be educated at Manor House School. He died a year later from inflammation of the lungs on 21 April 1882, aged 13 or 14. There are two white arrows indicating the way to the Prince's grave. One is at the entrance opposite the Ring O'Bells pub, and the other further down the pathway showing the direction to his grave. It has no headstone, but there is an inscription on the edging stone.

References

Notes

Sources

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External links

King Jaja of Opobo
at Black History Pages

at Igbani-Awo Association * ** *, a Barbadian folk song referencing the king {{DEFAULTSORT:Opobo, Jaja of 1820s births 1891 deaths People from Opobo 19th-century Nigerian businesspeople Opobo monarchs People from colonial Nigeria 19th-century monarchs in Africa Igbo Igbo people