Nembe Kingdom
Encyclopedia
The Nembe Kingdom is a traditional state in Niger Delta
. It includes the Nembe
and Brass
Local Government Areas of Bayelsa State
, Nigeria. The traditional rulers take the title "Amanyanabo". Today, leadership is split between the Amanyanabos of Ogbolomabiri, Bassambiri and Twon Brass.
region, settled in the region that now includes the Edumanom Forest Reserve
.
The date of foundation of the old Nembe kingdom is unknown.
Tradition says that the tenth king was called Ogio, ruling around 1639, the ancestor of all subsequent kings.
A civil war later split the city into two factions. At the start of the 19th century king Ogbodo and his followers moved to a new settlement at Bassimibiri, while king Mingi remained at Nembe city.
With the arrival of Europeans on the coast, the Nembe kingdom became a trading state, but was relatively poor compared to Bonny
and Calabar
.
European traders knew the area as "Brass" based on the people's use of the phrase "ba ra sin" when trading, meaning "I don't accept that deal", and at first used "Brasstown" to refer to the inland city of Nembe
. Later they used "Brass" to refer to the coastal town of Twon, now known as Twon-Brass
.
The Nembe slave trade picked up in the second quarter of the 19th century when the British attempted to suppress slavery by blockading the ports of Bonny and Calabar. The position of Nembe town 30 miles up the Brass River became an advantage in these circumstances. However, with dwindling demand for slaves, by 1856 the palm-oil trade had become more important and trade had moved to Twon/Brass on the coast.
In the later 19th century Christian missionaries contributed to the existing factional tensions among the Nembe.
Ogbolomabiri acquired a mission in 1867, while Bassambiri remained "heathen".
After 1884, the Nembe kingdom was included in the area over which the British claimed sovereignty as the Oil Rivers Protectorate. The Nembe, who by now controlled the palm oil trade, at first refused to sign a treaty, and fought to prevent the Royal Niger Company
obtaining a trade monopoly.
In January 1895 the Nembe King William Koko led a dawn attack of more than a thousand warriors on the company's headquarters at Akassa, which triggered a retaliatory raid in which the British destroyed the town of Brass.
In the ensuing struggle hundreds of Nembe were killed, while many more died from an outbreak of smallpox.
The British later established a consulate in Twon-Brass, from where they administered the area.
Traditional rulers were reinstalled in the 1920s, but with an essentially symbolic role which they retain today.
In early 2003 several people were killed at Nembe Bassambiri when two rival factions disagreed over the distribution of electoral materials for the general elections.
In 2003/2004 the community was torn by fighting with a rival community in which many homes were destroyed, people were killed and others fled and went into hiding.
The cause was a dispute over revenue from oil extraction in nearby Obioku village by Shell Nigeria
, which was claimed by both Nembe Bassambiri and by the village of Odioma
.
In October 2004 King Ralph Iwowari conducted elaborate ceremonies to mark the end of the crisis.
Agip Oil Company
and Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas operate terminals in Twon Brass.
In February 2009 gunmen in two speedboats attacked troops guarding the Agip oil terminal, but were repelled.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta
(MEND) had threatened to target Italian companies since Italy had apparently offered to supply two attack boats to the Nigerian military.
In May 2009 the Nembe-Bassambiri Council of Chiefs accused the Independent National Electoral Commission
of stirring up trouble by transferring part of their constituency to Brass.
In April 2010 the Bayelsa State government attempted to resolve the ongoing discord between the Bassambiri and Ogbolomabiri communities, bringing together Edmund Daukoru
, Mingi XII, Amanyanabo of Nembe Kingdom and Ralph Iwowari
, Mein VII, Amanyanabo of Nembe Bassambiri with other chiefs to find a solution.
Niger Delta
The Niger Delta, the delta of the Niger River in Nigeria, is a densely populated region sometimes called the Oil Rivers because it was once a major producer of palm oil...
. It includes the Nembe
Nembe
Nembe is a Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Nembe in the east of the area at.It has an area of 760 km² and a population of 130,931 at the 2006 census.The postal code of the area is 562....
and Brass
Brass, Nigeria
Brass is a Local Government Area in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Twon-Brass on the coast. It has a coastline of approximately 90 km on the Bight of Bonny. Much of the area of the LGA is occupied by the Edumanom National Forest....
Local Government Areas of Bayelsa State
Bayelsa State
Bayelsa State is a state in southern Nigeria in the core Niger Delta region, between Delta State and Rivers State. Its capital is Yenagoa. The language spoken here is Ijaw language and dialects of the Ijaw language such as Nembe, Atissa, Akassa, Ogbia, etc. However, like the rest of Nigeria,...
, Nigeria. The traditional rulers take the title "Amanyanabo". Today, leadership is split between the Amanyanabos of Ogbolomabiri, Bassambiri and Twon Brass.
History
The Nembe are an Ijaw people of the Niger DeltaNiger Delta
The Niger Delta, the delta of the Niger River in Nigeria, is a densely populated region sometimes called the Oil Rivers because it was once a major producer of palm oil...
region, settled in the region that now includes the Edumanom Forest Reserve
Edumanom Forest Reserve
The Edumanom Forest Reserve is an area in the Niger Delta region of southeast Nigeria that is home to some of the last chimpanzees in Nigeria. It covers part of the old Nembe Kingdom, now divided into the Nembe and Brass local government areas, in Bayelsa State.The reserve is a Freshwater Swamp...
.
The date of foundation of the old Nembe kingdom is unknown.
Tradition says that the tenth king was called Ogio, ruling around 1639, the ancestor of all subsequent kings.
A civil war later split the city into two factions. At the start of the 19th century king Ogbodo and his followers moved to a new settlement at Bassimibiri, while king Mingi remained at Nembe city.
With the arrival of Europeans on the coast, the Nembe kingdom became a trading state, but was relatively poor compared to Bonny
Bonny
Bonny is a town and a Local Government Area in Rivers State in southeast Nigeria, on the Bight of Biafra. It was also the capital of the Kingdom of Bonny. Traditionally it was a major trading post of the eastern delta....
and Calabar
Akwa Akpa
Akwa Akpa, known to colonialists as Old Calabar or Duke Town was an Efik city-state that flourished in the 19th century in what is now southeastern Nigeria.Although absorbed into Nigeria, traditional rulers of the state are still recognized....
.
European traders knew the area as "Brass" based on the people's use of the phrase "ba ra sin" when trading, meaning "I don't accept that deal", and at first used "Brasstown" to refer to the inland city of Nembe
Nembe
Nembe is a Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Nembe in the east of the area at.It has an area of 760 km² and a population of 130,931 at the 2006 census.The postal code of the area is 562....
. Later they used "Brass" to refer to the coastal town of Twon, now known as Twon-Brass
Twon-Brass
Twon-Brass is a community on Brass island in the Nun River estuary of Southern Bayelsa State, Nigeria, in the Brass Local Government Area.The royal Chief is His Royal Majesty Alfred Diete-Spiff....
.
The Nembe slave trade picked up in the second quarter of the 19th century when the British attempted to suppress slavery by blockading the ports of Bonny and Calabar. The position of Nembe town 30 miles up the Brass River became an advantage in these circumstances. However, with dwindling demand for slaves, by 1856 the palm-oil trade had become more important and trade had moved to Twon/Brass on the coast.
In the later 19th century Christian missionaries contributed to the existing factional tensions among the Nembe.
Ogbolomabiri acquired a mission in 1867, while Bassambiri remained "heathen".
After 1884, the Nembe kingdom was included in the area over which the British claimed sovereignty as the Oil Rivers Protectorate. The Nembe, who by now controlled the palm oil trade, at first refused to sign a treaty, and fought to prevent the Royal Niger Company
Royal Niger Company
The Royal Niger Company was a mercantile company chartered by the British government in the nineteenth century. It formed the basis of the modern state of Nigeria....
obtaining a trade monopoly.
In January 1895 the Nembe King William Koko led a dawn attack of more than a thousand warriors on the company's headquarters at Akassa, which triggered a retaliatory raid in which the British destroyed the town of Brass.
In the ensuing struggle hundreds of Nembe were killed, while many more died from an outbreak of smallpox.
The British later established a consulate in Twon-Brass, from where they administered the area.
Traditional rulers were reinstalled in the 1920s, but with an essentially symbolic role which they retain today.
Recent times
The Nembe region is poor and plagued with violence.In early 2003 several people were killed at Nembe Bassambiri when two rival factions disagreed over the distribution of electoral materials for the general elections.
In 2003/2004 the community was torn by fighting with a rival community in which many homes were destroyed, people were killed and others fled and went into hiding.
The cause was a dispute over revenue from oil extraction in nearby Obioku village by Shell Nigeria
Shell Nigeria
Shell Nigeria is the colloquial name for Royal Dutch Shell's Nigerian operations carried out through four subsidiaries—primarily through Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited...
, which was claimed by both Nembe Bassambiri and by the village of Odioma
Odioma
Odioma is a village located in Bayelsa State, Nigeria, in an area where oil was found by Shell Nigeria. It was largely destroyed in February 2005, when soldiers burned buildings, killed perhaps 17 villagers and raped women, ostensibly in revenge for previous killings by local rebels.The underlying...
.
In October 2004 King Ralph Iwowari conducted elaborate ceremonies to mark the end of the crisis.
Agip Oil Company
Agip
Agip is an Italian automotive gasoline and diesel retailer established in 1926. It is a subsidiary of the multinational petroleum company Eni.In 2003, Eni S.p.A...
and Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas operate terminals in Twon Brass.
In February 2009 gunmen in two speedboats attacked troops guarding the Agip oil terminal, but were repelled.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta
Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta is one of the largest militant groups in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The organization claims to expose exploitation and oppression of the people of the Niger Delta and devastation of the natural environment by public-private partnerships...
(MEND) had threatened to target Italian companies since Italy had apparently offered to supply two attack boats to the Nigerian military.
In May 2009 the Nembe-Bassambiri Council of Chiefs accused the Independent National Electoral Commission
Independent National Electoral Commission
The Independent National Electoral Commission , set up in 1998, is the electoral body which was set up to oversee elections in Nigeria.The INEC has encountered several controversies in the run-up to the April 2007 general elections, including criticism about its preparedness from Sada Abubakar,...
of stirring up trouble by transferring part of their constituency to Brass.
In April 2010 the Bayelsa State government attempted to resolve the ongoing discord between the Bassambiri and Ogbolomabiri communities, bringing together Edmund Daukoru
Edmund Daukoru
Dr. Edmund Maduabebe Daukoru is a former Nigerian Minister of State for Energy and was President of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in 2006.-Background:...
, Mingi XII, Amanyanabo of Nembe Kingdom and Ralph Iwowari
Ralph Iwowari
Ralph Michael Iwowari, or Mein VII, is the Amanyanabo, or traditional ruler of Nembe Bassambiri, one of the sections of the Nembe Kingdom in Bayelsa State, Nigeria....
, Mein VII, Amanyanabo of Nembe Bassambiri with other chiefs to find a solution.
Ogbolomabiri
Rulers of Ogbolomabiri:| Start | End | Ruler |
|---|---|---|
| 1745 | 1766 | Mingi I |
| 1766 | 1788 | Ikata Mingi II |
| 1788 | 1800 | Gboro Mingi III |
| 1800 | 1832 | Kulo Mingi IV "King Forday" |
| 1832 | 1846 | Amain Mingi V "King Boy" |
| 1846 | 1846 | Kuki |
| 1846 | 1863 | Kien Mingi VI |
| 1863 | 1879 | Joshua Constantine Ockiya Mingi VII |
| 1879 | 1889 | (vacant) |
| 1889 | 1896 | Frederick William Koko Mingi VIII (d. 1898) |
| 1896 | 1926 | (vacant) |
| 1926 | 1939 | Joshua Anthony O. Ockiya Mingi IX (b. c.1873 – d. 1939 |
| 1939 | 1954 | (vacant) |
| 1954 | 1979 | Francis O. Joseph Alagoa Mingi X (d. 1979) |
| 1979 | 2004 | Kien Ambrose Ezeolisa Alagoa Mingi XI (b. 1914 – d. 2004) |
| 2004 | 2008 | (vacant) |
| 23 February 2008 | Edmund Maduabebe Daukoru, Mingi XII (b. 1943) |
Bassambiri
Later rulers of Bassambiri:| Start | End | Ruler |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | Arisimo "King Peter" | |
| 1870 | 1894 | Ebifa |
| 1894 | 1924 | (vacant) |
| 1924 | 1927 | Albert Oguara |
| 1928 | Ben I. Warri | |
| Ralph Iwowari Ralph Iwowari Ralph Michael Iwowari, or Mein VII, is the Amanyanabo, or traditional ruler of Nembe Bassambiri, one of the sections of the Nembe Kingdom in Bayelsa State, Nigeria.... , Mein VII |
Twon/Brass
| Start | End | Ruler |
|---|---|---|
| Alfred Diete-Spiff Alfred Diete-Spiff Alfred Papapreye Diete-Spiff was the first Governor of Rivers State, Nigeria after it was created from part of the old Eastern Region, Nigeria. He held office from May 1967 until July 1975 during the military administration of General Yakubu Gowon.... (b.30 July 1942) |