As Rivers State marks its 50th anniversary, two very important historical events have been made into stage plays for the celebration. These are King Jaja of Opobo and The Concubine, an epic novel by Elechi Amadi. Edozie Udeze writes on the place of these figures in the history of the people and the society
It is not for nothing that the Rivers State government has chosen two landmark historical events to mark its 50 years anniversary. Both the history of King Jaja of Opobo and the epic novel, The Concubine written by Elechi Amadi have a lot to say about Rivers State. The two significant events have been done into stage plays as part of the shows to mark the 50th anniversary of Rivers State. The state was created in 1967.
Jaja of Opobo played prominent roles to register the place of the people of Rivers in the annals of history. He was a renowned merchant prince and the founder of the Opobo city-state that is now part of Rivers State. Born in 1891 in Umuduruoha, Amaigbo in today’s Imo State, Jaja was sold into slavery at the age of twelve. He landed in Bonny, then a sprawling centre of commerce. His real name was Jumo Jubogha but for the sake of his business dealings with the British merchants, he assumed the name Jaja. He proved to be a good business man at an early age and therefore earned himself out of slavery.
He later established himself as the head of the Anna Pepple ruling house. This made them to allow him into the inner workings of the dynasty.. But in 1869, Jaja broke away due to a protracted quarrel with the Pepple household. Consequently, he established his own dynasty, business and name. He immediately moved to block the access of the British merchants and middlemen to the interior. He was in total control of trade in palm oil. By this, he became the sole merchant and often sidelined the British middlemen to ship oil to places like Liverpool and other cities in Britain.
However, when in 1884 the Berlin Conference in Germany conferred full control of Opobo area on Britain, it gave them the total boldness to go after Jaja. Thus Jaja played into their hands, when he also refused to stop taxing British traders and merchants. Subsequently, he was invited to Accra, Gold Coast, for negotiation. From there he was taken to London where he met Queen Victoria. Indeed, he was the guest of the Queen in Buckingham Palace from where was taken to the West Indies as an exile.
In 1891, he was allowed to return to Opobo. On the way, however, he died. By then, the powers and fame and importance of Opobo had declined. The business had collapsed as British merchants had no authentic person to do business with. But then, the name King Jaja of Opobo has remained very important to the people up till date. This is why the state government has chosen this figure as one of the stage plays to draw the people together, focusing on his roles.
The Concubine written by Elechi Amadi was published in 1966 by the Heinemann African Writers Series. It was set in Ikwerre, Rivers State. It is the story of Ihuoma the protagonist, and a woman of great beauty and dignity who was loved by many men. It shows that ancient belief of the people concerning the powers of sea goddesses and marine spirits. Ihuoma was considered as someone who had a marine husband and therefore her earthly suitors were seen as interlopers. Death and misfortunes were the lot of those men who dared to woo her or who got as close as having an affair with her.
It is the story of typical riverine people of Ikwerre and most parts of Rivers State. In 2007, it was made into a film by Andy Amenechi and it has today remained one of the epic films by a Nigerian filmmaker. In other words, the dignity displayed by Ihuoma in the face of all odds, her ability to stand the scorns of the society and all, have made The Concubine one of the plays for Rivers at 50.
Some of the artistes involved are Francis Duru, Bimbo Manuel, Monalisa Chinda, Segun Arinze, Norbert Young, Onyeka Onwenu and others. To be held at the Hotel Presidential, Port Harcourt, on 18th and 23rd of this month, the two plays would bring back issues of the importance of history in the lives of the people. Jaja typified history, fame and doggedness, while Ihuoma stood for dignity, respect and motherhood.. By making both stage plays, the message will be brought nearer to the people, making even policy-makers to re-think their aversion to History as a subject of study.