A Brief history of the War Canoe Houses in Opobo

The ancient kingdom of Opobo has seen several war canoe houses that were established by several wealthy merchants. A war canoe house is a family and is headed by an Alabo (Chief). some of these war canoes in Opobo were established in Bonny. In this video we take a closer look at the history of these chieftaincy houses in Opobo.

[@josephdappa1340]

IJAW people are resilient, unconquerable and loving souls. Whenever I hear IBANI songs, I shiver with love in my heart for my people. God bless all of you always. jtsdrd, USA

[@MaziBiafra]

Opobo are not "ijaws" people, they are Igbo people

[@josephdappa1340]

@@MaziBiafra : I am getting tired of this MaziBiafra person! Please don’t comment on my pages!!! I challenge you to publish your rubbish on the Nigerian News pages. No matter what you say: the IBANI people, which comprise Bonny and Opobo people are not Ibo people and will never be Ibo people. We IBANI people love the Ibo people, they are our mothers and wives. We have no problems with the Ibo people. God bless the good heart Ibo people. We no business with the MaziBiafra evil people, who are always looking for trouble. Don’t you ever send me your idiotic and stupid comments that have no basis in fact!!! jtsdrd, USA

[@tamunoj5437]

@@MaziBiafra Mumu man, after reading the write up you still want to exhibit you stupidity.

[@dominicjosephus8760]

Opobo town! My city my culture, blessed community

[@عائشةأديم]

Ojiri Mmiri ga ogu kpo ya ijiriji (igirigi), deep, yessooo.

[@nazearochukwu]

Very educational. Thank you very much.

[@Cemperor001]

God bless Opobo 🙏🙏🙏

[@sodienyefubara7784]

God bless the IJAW nation & my great IBANI people.❤

[@ikecosmas8398]

God bless them. But they are speaking igbo why not ijaw ? Are they igbos instead?

[@sosa9220]

@@ikecosmas8398 we speak English, are we English instead?

[@sosa9220]

@@ikecosmas8398 and this question has already been answered for you, yet you continue to ask it again. Go ahead and stop trying to push your rhetoric

[@dgk693]

@@sosa9220 Even if they mostly descend from enslaved igbos rather than free, is it not logical to say opobo has significant enough igbo dna to be considered an igbo people as well as ijaw? This is my own genuine question. I may be igbo but I am not bias.

[@sosa9220]

@@dgk693 Great Question. To awnser I’ll say this, our lineage dosen’t 100 percent make our identity. Of course there is influence, to which we have no shame saying, but for people to come and say that is our root when our root is Ibani is what we take issue with. Ibani political systems, religious beliefs, food, drinks, ideology, dressing etc make us who we are. They are our foundations. So despite the Igbo percentage, and even those who were from Igbo land and other ethnicities but enculturated, we are Ibani, an Ijaw subgroup.

[@ezinwo1961]

The Opobo kingdoms of Jaja of the 1800 hundreds were more organized civilizations and governments and society than what we have today 2022. The history of the Igbo of the Eastern Region can never be diluted by suppression but clearly the Igbo unlike their yoruba counterparts in the western region and Hausa in the northern region lacked the strategy of assimilation of the minorities but Igbo were confederate states and individualistic unlike the kingdom and feudalism of their contemporaries.We now need to spread more love towards our great neighbors and brothers and sisters the minorities

[@ayebatarijuliapaxagiri2767]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/enSzfHuvncmMepo

[@tralbriggs104]

Great Ijaw people

[@ejikeenwerem5534]

My friend you said great ijaw the language they speak in there singing is igbo and not ijaw I as igbo man understand all that they were singing but you don't understand meanings of their muzic

[@innocentelvis7285]

@@ejikeenwerem5534 dont mind them

[@tamunoj5437]

@@ejikeenwerem5534 Haven't you heard them sing in Ijaw? The Igbos Migrated as slaves to Bonny and were accultured. Same way Igbos sold during slave trade became American and not Igbos anymore. What do you think? you can come to ibani and claim they belong to you. There is no Osu practice in Ibani. most of the people you sold as Osu found solace in Ibani kingdom

[@ayebatarijuliapaxagiri2767]

@@ejikeenwerem5534 kzbin.info/door/jTr73c2ZCl8ilNUAg8LQfA ...Use dis link 2watch d video where d current AMAYANABO of Opobo, a direct descendant of d famous king JAJA clearly states dat Bonny & Opobo r ALL IJAWS. Unless u want 2tell us dat u who is not an Ibani person, u a stranger frm wherever knows better dan d IBANI indegenes & evn d chiren of Jaja who was d very 1st king of Opobo. If u say u know better, den no wahala. Good luck 2u

[@dozimedia]

@@tamunoj5437 This is an amalgam of culture. Their Ijaw and Igbo origin cannot be doubted. The dominant language and culture is Igbo. The nwaotam is also an Ndoki- igbo culture. Historically, Ndoki predates Ubani(Igbani) establishment.

[@florenceagazie697]

Beautiful people with wonderful culture, love it

[@عائشةأديم]

OJO iheoma diri gi, Iheoma nile imere nelu uwa nka, hosana gozie gi

[@SimonVictorchike]

I am Igbo but love ❤ the song

[@cleverwaga7435]

Am from imo state but how come I understand exactly what they singing?

[@kevinchimeka9202]

This is the great kingdom we have in Rivers state as regards war canae

[@SMILE-ku7nu]

Who are the we, you are Igbo man so how those Ijaw community concern Igbo people, abi you didn't read the write-ups..

[@ayebatarijuliapaxagiri2767]

@@SMILE-ku7nu 😅😅😅 Dey there na. Wait make dem tell u say we r Igbos. Igbo ppl & their obsession with Ibani (Bonny & Opobo) ehn ! D tin dey funny

[@chukwudekwute332]

@@ayebatarijuliapaxagiri2767 . But i understand the song, ojiri miri ga ogu kpo ya ijiri ji. It is igbo language

[@ayebatarijuliapaxagiri2767]

@@chukwudekwute332 OK, so u listened 2only d song? It's a musical video abi? U didn't read d history, evrytin dat was said in d video is inconsequential, only song u pick. U don't know there's something called sound track. A full history of WAR CANOE HOUSES in Opobo is given but all u heard is d Igbo song or sound track in d background. U didn't grasp d fact dat EVERYTHING in d video is IJAW. U didn't. Only Igbo song. Continue

[@mathewg4352]

Nsukka people speak with Idoma, Igala and Igbo accent and their dialect and culture is different from that of Anambra, Imo and Abia but they're Igbos . A four market days was established by the ancestors of the Igbo race to help them remember who they are.....because they knew that a day of identity crisis would surely come which would bring an end to their lineage and they didn't want that to happen...

[@paulkingsley206]

Beautiful

[@عائشةأديم]

Nkwu di namba na eghere ha ji

[@famousandbase3572]

Igbo bu lgbo as always

[@EteEff]

Igbo no bu Ijaw, Ijaw bu Ijaw.

[@EteEff]

Ijaw, as always, Ijaw.

[@tamunoj5437]

Oko Jaja was not related to Jaja.. Please correct that

[@Willzybaby-k4m]

God bless Opobo God bless Ibani se Igbos can continue being foolish till Christ comes.

[@tamaraye7110]

Funny enough opobo people bear Ibani Ijaw names,dress like ijaws,have a unique house system,have cultural pratices that are ijaws,the king is Amayanabo despite speaking a language that is not theirs they still maintain the original ijaw lifestyle..Im waiting to sew how igbo people will turn Ibani into igbo.

[@udob4939]

Great Igbo people of Opobo

[@sosa9220]

We’re not an Igbo people thank you very much.

[@ayebatarijuliapaxagiri2767]

Great IJAW ppl of Opobo. O mie bààm 🙌

[@udob4939]

@@sosa9220 You are not igbo but the rest are Igbo and that’s all that matters not you boo boo

[@udob4939]

@@ayebatarijuliapaxagiri2767 whatever makes you sleep good Nne

[@sosa9220]

@@udob4939 Rest as in who? The people of the obvious Ibani house system and polos which mainly are in Ibani?

[@SMILE-ku7nu]

Ah Izon

[@ayebatarijuliapaxagiri2767]

Izon kimi emi ah !💪🙌

[@Sidemnews]

Proudly ibani God bless ijawland❤

[@BroMan-vm5gt]

​@@ayebatarijuliapaxagiri2767emi o

[@anthillmoshe2424]

The song is in Igbo ..although riverine igbo. Opobo speaks igbo

[@ayebatarijuliapaxagiri2767]

D song is in Igbo but wot about d story, d history in d video? Is d video about d song or it's about d history? Is it a musical video? I tot it's a historical documentary of IJAW CULTURE, WAR CANOE HOUSES & founding of Opobo ? From beginning 2end of d video I didn't see anything about Igbo. All I saw & read is Ijaw. So y didn't u mention dat but jumped 2say Opobo speaks Igbo? Do we need a reminder?

[@anthillmoshe2424]

@@ayebatarijuliapaxagiri2767 music and other traditions are part of a people's culture ..

[@sosa9220]

@@anthillmoshe2424 and yet the Igbo dialect we speak is not the only aspect of our culture. Imagine going to a Jamaican and calling him English becuase he speaks Patwa.

[@ayebatarijuliapaxagiri2767]

@@anthillmoshe2424 oda traditions lik wot? Wot r d Ibani traditions dat r of Igbo origin or related 2 Igbo? Name dem. Lik 5. I will gv u list of 15 Ibani culture dat is purely IJAW. If u can just gv me 5 Ibani cultural practices dat r of Igbo origin

[@udob4939]

You Dey mind them? If you listen closely you will even hear them say “Nwa Igbo”, Ubani The people know they are Igbo . No mind these Bayelsa people trying to claim everyone as Ijaw. Ijaw people no dey speak Igbo so we already know what’s up

[@mgeorge162]

so the Africans had canoes but europeans had ships? could the african not make their on canoes? and maybe ships? was that possible?

[@ayebatarijuliapaxagiri2767]

What xactly r u saying? U aren't making any sense here

[@mathewg4352]

Nsukka people speak with Idoma, Igala and Igbo accent and their dialect and culture is different from that of Anambra, Imo and Abia but they're Igbos . A four market days was established by the ancestors of the Igbo race to help them remember who they are.....because they knew that a day of identity crisis would surely come which would bring an end to their lineage and they didn't want that to happen...because they were very wise

[@ayebatarijuliapaxagiri2767]

But in Opobo we don't know anytin about 4 market days tho. It's not our culture or way of counting days/date. It's alien 2 Opobo

[@mekuscpekus]

@@ayebatarijuliapaxagiri2767 Julia, I hv been reading your efforts in trying to prove what that is beyond your imagination. One thing u may know for sure is that, Jaja is neither the first nor the only Igbo man who migrated to Bonny and her environs. Before Jaja was resold as a kid from OKoroma (Ndoki), there were already generations of Igbos enter mingling with the Ijaws and living together. Those other Gunboats that left with Jaja to settle in Opobo where all Igbos who were well to do like Jaja. The names they bear was only a result of the acculturation they did because Igbos can do anything for freedom. No Igbo accepts a slave tag. Just like Mbanaso was changed to an Ijaw long name that was shortened to Jaja by the Europeans. Most of your Amayanabo in history and now are original Igbos. Their names were done through acculturation. Their family history is intact within them from generation to generation. I have met a lot of Ama Pepples, they all speak very good Igbo and if they trust you, they will tell you who they are. Most don't tell no matter how close you may be with them. The fear of the spell of acculturation is very real within them. Bear in mind that this acculturation is nothing but a spell which is a crime against humanity. It is nothing to be proud of. They all agreed to it out of desperation to be free. Slavery was a global plague and have since been abolished universally. Replacing it with a spell in the mode of acculturation is a crime against humanity. You don't claim to give one freedom and on the other hand you put spell on them and remove who they are in order to implant yourself in them. Well you may have succeeded to change their names but you could not change their language and culture. If I where you, I would first quietly go and do ancestry test like the Americans are doing now to find out who you really are. I read many things you wrote about Igbos who where banished for one nsọ ala or another, including those who may hv been wrongly accused and banished. U are right in that write-up. Some of those banished then were slave raiders also. What they were doing was abomination against the land. Our ancestors do not have culture of killing offenders and there was no prison as we hv them today. To fight against heinous crimes and abominations was banishment from our land. Today, innocent people still go to jail out of false witnesses. Our ancestors never supported slavery. The story of osu and ume were never what the modern day turned it to be. These are people who were protected by the gods of the land and were wel' taken care of by the people. But it's a story for another day.

[@ayebatarijuliapaxagiri2767]

@@mekuscpekus Bonny & Opobo r not d only places Igbos lived or were ENCULTURATED. Kalabari, Okrika, Nembe/Brass, Akassa ,all diz r Ijaw clans/kingdoms where Igbos were enculturated in their numbers during d slave trade era. U hear Asari Dokubo singing it lik a song everyday, dat he has Igbo blood in his veins, but 2day he's an Ijaw man. In recent times, a king of Nembe (Ogbolomabiri), Mingi was an Igbo descendant. Is Kalabari now Igbo bcos Asari's family, AMAKIRI(AMACHREE) War Canoe House is Igbo? Or Nembe is now Igbo bcos of d Alagoa family dat has Igbo blood? In Brass Island there's a place called CHIDI AMA, d founder, first inhabitant was an Igbo dat was ENCULTURATED. So Brass is now Igbo? I'v not heard Igbos claiming Kalabari, Okrika, Nembe d way they claim Ibani. Y is Ibani a different matter? Ibani isn't d only Ijaw kingdom dat enculturated Igbos. Y do Igbos want 2claim Bonny/Opobo? Wot's special about us? Or u hv somtin else, som reason under ur sleeves? 😆 Som of u Igbos, una own 2much u shud leave Ibani issues. Allow we Ibanis be. D families who know their history & hv Igbo link, definitely say so. But our culture, tradition, dressing, names, titles, family systems, marriage rites, masquerades, womanhood ceremonies, language , EVERYTHING is Ijaw. So as an Ibani person with d name SODIENYE FUBARA or TAMUNOSISI JAJA, if u see my name somewhere u will say dis is an Igbo person? Identify is culture, tradition, practices, etc. Imagine u Igbos calling on OMENELA while as an Ibani person, I will b calling AMATEMESO. U dey use kolanut 2pray on land, me na kaikai I go dey use pray & I go dey look 4 water, river so my ancestors go hear me. Wen Ibani says we r Ijaws, it's deeper dan u think. We r d ones wearing d shoes so let us b

[@ayebatarijuliapaxagiri2767]

@@mekuscpekus Jaja was not resold frm Okoroma in Ndoki. Abeg don't talk nonsense. U hv no idea about our history. Jaja was originally MBANASO OKWARAOZURUMBA frm Amaigbo in present day Imo State, sold by Ojukwu or so frm Ogwuta in present day Imo State 2a Chief in Bonny. He was renamed JUBO-JUBOFEM OPUBO wich d Europeans couldn't pronounce & called JAJA OPOBO. Abeg don't tell us our history, we r not daft, our forefathers kept records, they pass down d history so we know it. Don't help us, u r not one of us. Thnx

[@ayebatarijuliapaxagiri2767]

@@mekuscpekus Pls, gunboats didn't leave Bonny 2 Opobo. It's War Canoe Houses, not gunboats. They r 2 different tins. Bcos u r a non- Ibani, u don't know d difference between War Canoe House & gunboat. U just heat "WAR" , so u tink it's just all about WAR & Guns. War Canoe House is similar 2ur UMUNNA in Igbo land. Now tell me how All d War Canoe Houses dat established Opobo r Igbo? D 14 War Canoe Houses dat left Bonny 2 establish OPOBO r ALL IJAWS. Evn Ani Pepple War Canoe House which is d house Jaja belonged was NEVER an Igbo War Canoe House, Jaja was only d head who took over frm ALALI OPUBO his adoptive father. Or u mean dat ANI PEPPLE WAR CANOE HOUSE was Ibani wen Alali Opubo was alive but became Igbo wen Jaja took over? All d members of d family died & Igbos replaced dem? U see, d truth is u ppl r not frm Bonny or Opobo so u don't know our culture. Enculturation isn't a spell. Or is adoption a spell ? U had ur culture, we had ours. If u say ENCULTURATION was a crime, so u want 2 right d wrongs by turning Ibani 2 Igbo, wot about ur cultures dat were wrong, how do u correct dem? And if u say d Igbos were enculturated so they bore Ijaw names, doesn't dat show dat Ijaws r d original owners of Bonny? If they r not y did d Igbo slaves get enculturated & name changed 2an Ijaw name? U r frm somewhere else, yet u r telling an Ibani person dat gunboats went 2establish Opobo & they were all Igbos. Isn't dat funny? U want 2tell me my history abi ? I shud go & do DNA 4wot ? Jaja's biological descendant d current AMAYANABO categorically & openly says he's IJAW. U tink Igbos came, married & kept 2demselves? Of course they intermarried d natives, d Ibanis who r Ijaws. So how r they still Igbo? As 4 Ibani practicing Igbo culture pls don't even talk about it. Pls go do som research den com & tell us ONE Igbo culture we practice. Apart frm Nwaotam masquerade, name anoda Igbo masquerade. Evn Nwaotam is very recent, d video is here on KZbin, "d history of Nwaotam in Opobo", search & watch it. Our masquerades r OWU MINJI, OWU OTOBO, OWU INGBILA, OWU TARIGHA etc We don't hv any Igbo culture. D kings u say r Igbo, y don't we hv any Igbo name on record as king, both past & present? If they hv Ijaw names it means they r Ijaw. Or they were adopted into Ijaw families. A stranger doesn't bcom king just lik dat ! U can't bcom king tru Enculturation & still claim u r Igbo, it means ur enculturation is null & void so u hv 2return 2ur Igbo land & forfeit d inheritance, kingship, land etc dat was given 2u. It was all done bcos of ENCULTURATION. U can't eat ur cake & hv it. Ibani ancestors weren't fools. U barnished ppl rightfully or wrongfully, Ijaws accommodated dem, now u want 2claim Ijaw land, how? Supposing d same ppl u barnished killed Ijaws or d accommodation & hospitality backfired , I'm sure u wud hv bin laffing at Ijaws saying y did they accept Igbos who were barnished? U had cultures 4a reason, u try 2gv ur culture a good meaning but our Enculturation 2u is bad & we shud shut up. Ur OSU & burnishing was bad too, so let's all shut up & let sleeping dogs lie. Ibani is Ijaw, not Igbo. Any family with Igbo ancestry is free 2go 2 Igboland. How many Yorubas hv turned Cuba or Brazil 2 Yorubaland? How many Jamaicans hv turned Jamaica 2 Asanti or Ghana? How many Igbos in d US or Caribbeans hv turned those places into Africa? If u know ur family history, u r free 2tell ur descendants, but of course d descendants r told d land belongs 2d original ppl, who r Ibanis, Ijaws. So evn if I'm an Igbo descendant, I won't say Ibani is Igbo, bcos it's not. Dat's y evn king Dandeson Jaja says OPOBO is IJAW. His father never owned Opobo & we all know it, Jaja or any Igbo descendant knows Ibani is Ijaw & their forefathers were strangers. Simple

[@abelsonkalueme3279]

I will continue to hail my people of all African accent for never never allow the corrupted foreigners to wipe down all that is needed for them to be what they are.Let not bad eggs among you corrupt you to negotiate or reject your identity. God bless Africa.

[@mekuscpekus]

@Ayebatari Julia Pax Agiri Julia, I hv been reading your efforts in trying to prove what that is beyond your imagination. One thing u may know for sure is that, Jaja is neither the first nor the only Igbo man who migrated to Bonny and her environs. Before Jaja was resold as a kid from OKoroma (Ndoki), there were already generations of Igbos enter mingling with the Ijaws and living together. Those other Gunboats that left with Jaja to settle in Opobo where all Igbos who were well to do like Jaja. The names they bear was only a result of the acculturation they did because Igbos can do anything for freedom. No Igbo accepts a slave tag. Just like Mbanaso was changed to an Ijaw long name that was shortened to Jaja by the Europeans. Most of your Amayanabo in history and now are original Igbos. Their names were done through acculturation. Their family history is intact within them from generation to generation. I have met a lot of Ama Pepples, they all speak very good Igbo and if they trust you, they will tell you who they are. Most don't tell no matter how close you may be with them. The fear of the spell of acculturation is very real within them. Bear in mind that this acculturation is nothing but a spell which is a crime against humanity. It is nothing to be proud of. They all agreed to it out of desperation to be free. Slavery was a global plague and have since been abolished universally. Replacing it with a spell in the mode of acculturation is a crime against humanity. You don't claim to give one freedom and on the other hand you put spell on them and remove who they are in order to implant yourself in them. Well you may have succeeded to change their names but you could not change their language and culture. If I where you, I would first quietly go and do ancestry test like the Americans are doing now to find out who you really are. I read many things you wrote about Igbos who where banished for one nsọ ala or another, including those who may hv been wrongly accused and banished. U are right in that write-up. Some of those banished then were slave raiders also. What they were doing was abomination against the land. Our ancestors do not have culture of killing offenders and there was no prison as we hv them today. To fight against heinous crimes and abominations was banishment from our land. Today, innocent people still go to jail out of false witnesses. Our ancestors never supported slavery. The story of osu and ume were never what the modern day turned it to be. These are people who were protected by the gods of the land and were wel' taken care of by the people. But it's a story for another day.

[@tamunoj5437]

Bros you lie. Please do your findings, The other war canoes where never Igbos. my great grand Parents migrated to Opobo after the settlement was built because the trade post had moved to Opobo after the War in Bonny. 14 out of 18 move to Opobo. Stop spreading false news

[@ayebatarijuliapaxagiri2767]

@@tamunoj5437 Mbré, imiete. Tamunò ì tàri. No mind dis mumu ppl. Some of diz Igbos r just fools. Obori 🐐 apu

[@lagosian123]

@mekuscpekus • You will soon go to Cameroon to claim them too. Why can't you Igbo stay in your own land and stop looking for forced false family ties? In the whole of Nigeria only Igbo have this problem. Look at Hausa they have no business claiming those other tribes just because they share territories and have Hausa as common language example the Nupe, the Gwari, the Jukun, Kanuri et.c. Likewise Yoruba don't claim Benin Republic just because there are Yoruba tribes there. Neither force other Yoruba speaking tribes like Edo Ẹsan, Tapa, Ebira et.c. Because they are confident of themselves and know who they are. What is making you people to neglect your land and running to other people's land? Calabar people too are an independent tribe of their own, don't drag or force them into your madness unless they willingly agree to go along with you.

[@tamunoj5437]

So who changed their Names and how did they get to Bonny -- I doubt if not forcefully taken, no igbo man who dare cross the bonny river with a canoe. (Even today)

[@lagosian123]

@@tamunoj5437 dem no know how to paddle a canoe now...lol

[@famousandbase3572]

This is pure Igbo land opopo

[@ayebatarijuliapaxagiri2767]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/enSzfHuvncmMepo

[@EteEff]

This is truly Ijaw & Ibibio land, not Igbo land.