Who is king jaja of opobo

As the time went on, British officials were becoming more defiant to the indigenous authorities and British traders began direct trading with the hinterland palm oil producers.

In during the Berlin Conference, the European powers declared Opobo as British territory, and the British soon moved to claim it. As expected, Jaja believing in his own authority, refused to stop taxing the British traders.

This was the beginning of trouble for him. Under the guise of peace talks, Henry Hamilton Johnston, a British vice consul, invited Jaja to negotiations in Although Jaja turned down the invitation because he was suspicious of the motive, he was assured a safe return back home by Johnston and so he eventually honoured the invitation. Unbeknownst to King Jaja, this was the last time he would ever set foot in Opobo. Once aboard the warship Goshawk, Johnston confronted him with a deportation order or the complete destruction of Opobo.

Although the choices offered were between the devil and the deep blue see, it appears King Jaja chose to be deported. He was then deported to the Accra, Ghana. Probably still afraid of his influence and charming ways even in captivity, King Jaja was later deported to the West Indies, at St.

Vincent Island. The injustice meted out to King Jaja left a rather deep scar in the hearts of the indigenous people of Opobo and trade with the British all but seized. According to several reports, King Jaja while in exile, carried himself in his kingly dignity. He wrote several appeals to Britain to allow him return home back to his throne and his people.

After several declined appeals, he was finally allowed to return in Sadly, King Jaja never got the chance to see his homeland again as he died en route on the Island of Teneriffe, allegedly poisoned with a cup of tea. He was buried on the Canary Islands but the strong protest of his people led to his body being quickly exhumed and then taken home to be reburied. The people of Opobo gladly paid the cost of repatriating his body to Opobo where he was mourned for two years and a ceremony was done to celebrate him as a deity.

He was just as shrewd and fore-seeing as he was powerful…He could be stern, and he was strict, but he was always just, and the form of government he set up was as near perfect as anything of its kind could be. Advanced search. Your current browser may not support copying via this button. Sign In Article Navigation. Subscriber sign in You could not be signed in, please check and try again. Username Please enter your Username. Password Please enter your Password. Forgot password? Don't have an account?

Sign in via your Institution. You could not be signed in, please check and try again. Palm oil, in itself, was so vibrant that the region was named the Oil Rivers area. Astute in business and politics, Jaja became the head of the Anna Pepple House, extending its activities and influence by absorbing other houses, increasing operations in the hinterland and augmenting the number of European contacts.

He established a new settlement, which he named Opobo in where he became King Jaja of Opobo. This new status saw him declare himself independent of Bonny. Part of this success is attributed to the fact that Jaja made moves to block the access of British merchants to the interior, giving him an effective monopoly.

At times, Opobo even shipped palm oil directly to Liverpool, independent of British middlemen. Apart from the fact that he was a wealthy merchant and a very diplomatic man, he was also a man of honour and power. This is exemplified when he aided the Queen of England in a battle in the Gold Coast The Ashanti war and was awarded a sword of honour from Queen Victoria in As time went on, the Oil trade business in Opobo land began to expand and the ambitions of the Europeans to dominate this market grew, thus creating a conflict between Jaja and British top sales and business tycoons.

One of who was John Holt of Liverpool. He raided about seven of their villages, captured many, and executed about people for engaging in direct trade with the Europeans. Even when the British came up with funny tricks and laws to outrun Jaja in the quest of control of the Oil region, like a game of chess he always checkmated them and this angered the British the more.

At the Berlin Conference, however, the other European powers designated Opobo as British territory, and the British soon moved to claim it. When Jaja refused to cease taxing British traders, Henry Hamilton Johnston, a British vice-consul, invited Jaja to negotiations in He assured Jaja that nothing will happen to him.

When he went on board, he was given two bad choices by Johnson. One was that if he would not allow the Europeans access, he could go back and face immediate bombardment from the British navy, and the other that he goes into exile.

Jaja being a man of strong values and principles choose not to back down, the British arrested him and tried him in Accra in the Gold Coast now Ghana then took him to London for some time, where he met Queen Victoria and was her guest in Buckingham Palace.

No one knew what transpired between him and the Queen but after some time, he was finally deported to the West Indies. While in exile in the Caribbean, his presence was alleged to be the cause of immense civil unrest among the people of Barbados. Jaja eventually won his liberty after years of fighting against his wrongful abduction, and it was agreed by the Parliament that he could be repatriated to his Kingdom State of Opobo. Jaja now well advanced in age longed to see his beloved Opobo land again.

Now, this is the twist. The people of the Barbados, mostly of people of African Nigeria descent had heard rumors that an African King was being captured and is now on his way to the Island. They all rallied themselves together to give him a befitting reception. It was quite an interesting episode of his life in Barbados. The people of the Island felt insulted about how an African King had been subjected to such ridicule and shame.

The next day, which was a Sunday, the people of the Island held their church service on the water side, right by the ship. Jaja was seen looking through as the service goes on.