OBA (ALIAS GBOBO): STANDFAST JACK II.
a) He Resuscitated the House: By this time both Oba (Gbobo) and Oruwari (Briggs) had become prosperous enough to participate in the palm oil trade which called for a greater capital. As the reader might have seen from the “History of the Owiye Chieftaincy or House” on pages 14 and 15 of “The Intelligence Report Conferences at Abonnema, By the Royal House of Kalagbea (The Barboys) – 1935” non-chiefs of the Kalabari Clan could not sell their oil direct to the Europeans, trading firms. but through the chief of their own houses and, as there were no chiefs at that time in both the Iju and the Dweinala Houses, the two trade friends and colleagues, Oba and Oruwari, sold their oil through Owukori (Manuel) and Amabibl (Don Pedro), The Oba faction of Jack Quarter confirms this as follows in its “Genealogy of Igodoye Polo or Jack’s Quarter”:- “Many years later, Oba of the family of Iju sprang up with spirit of determination and great dexterity and embraced palm produce trade. As it was deadly against the Kalabari tradition that non-chiefs did not sell their produce to the trading European firms independently, but through the chiefs of their own family and quarter, and as there. was no chiefs in Iju’s family then, the aspiring young man with his friend Oruwari jointly sold their produce under the direction and protection of Owukori alias Manuel and Amabibi allas Don-Pedro who were existing and recognised produce chiefs. In course of time, Oba became wealthy and fulfilled the necessary obligations and was made chief, but he made it quite clear that he was taking the chieftaincy in the name of Iju, thus enabling the quarter to retrieve its lost name and free its members from the various aspects of bondage into which they were thrown. They could now trade under their own chief. Oba entrenched his descendants very deeply in the Iju or Jack Quarter by marrying Warigbani, the daughter of Orikl-ye Karibo who was a direct, descendants of the founding fathers of the ward. Details of this marriage are given hereunder. Iju married Amakirita, daughter of Opu-Ogoro, an Ingenne man who settled at Kula and founded the settlement known as “ISOMA-BIO”. On the death of Iju who had no issues with her, Amakirita was bequeathed to Oriki, his younger brother, with whom she had Karibo (Oriki-ye Karibo). Iju also married from Bakosi of the Owuere-ye Daba family, Igo-ala, a very beautiful lady and the only daughter of her mother, Akini. Chief Bakosi, the head of the Owuere-ye Daba house, was at first reluctant to give her away for the “Iya” marriage because she was the only daughter of her mother. He, however, agreed when Iju promised that he would allow the Koroame to marry back daughters that would result from this union. Unfortunately, Iju had no issues with her before he died. She was later bequeathed to Akufule with whom she had a daughter named Ekineta. Karibo (Oriki-ye Karibo) married Ekineta, daughter of Akufule and begot Ako, Bala (f), Kala-Benebo, Warigbani (f), Awo and Egberi (f). Oba married Warigbani and had from this union Igwe, Ada (f) Eferebo (Reuben), Tom, Ekpete (Sam), and Kurukurubo (Black). b) Oba and the “Endeme Expansion Scheme”. Oba, obviously, was the saviour of Iju Polo (Jack Quarter) and he did all that was humanly possible to increase the thin population of the house but, as had already been noted, the loss was too great to be retrieved within a short period. Moreover, the “Endeme Expansion Scheme”, like an insidious disease, still lingered along after Obas chieftaincy, with the result that up to the middle of the nineteenth century (the 1850s) the Iju alias Jack House could not recover speedily enough to regain its former status as a major house group in Kalabari. G.I. Jones records this situation in The Trading States of the Oil Rivers” in Appendix A, pages 219 and 220, as follows:- 39 “The nineteenth century saw the continued expansion of these two divisions so that by the reign of King Karibo (Amachree III),that is by the middle of the century Kalabarj consisted of the six major canoe house groups of Karibo, Barboy, Ombo, Brina-Omoni, West India, Briggs..” “The remaining houses which still preserved their political independence were only able to do this, by associating with one or other of these groups- Iju (Standfast Jack) of Igodoame with Briggs, the three Koroame Houses respectively with West India, Braide and Manuel. The other two original wards of Akialame and Amabiname had desintegrated as political units, and their members had been absorbed by the dominant canoe houses. c) The Jacks/Briggs Affiliation: The reader has seen how Oruwari Briggs as a boy came to be connected with Iju Polo (Jack Quarter or Ward) and name, how he was a tight friend to Gbobo later known by the nickname “Oba” Oriki-ye Karibo, the So-Alabo, had been watching the two friends very carefully and had seen that their friendship was increasing with their ages. In fact, he looked at Oruwari as a part of Iju (Jack) and admired the team spirit existing between the two friends. He had become old and wanted to seal their friendship together officially before the end of his life’s journey, and this he successfully did. One day he invited Oruwari and Oba together with their kitch and kin before his house and lowered on to a stool his tray (ekeli) of guardian spirits (Ekeke tamuno) from the juju garret (tamuno ebe). He then told them how he had been admiring the relationship between the two men growing from strength to strength. He brought out a bundle of brooms and handed it to Oruwari to break. Uruwari could not, and so he passed it to Oba who also could not break it. He then pulled out a single broom stick and gave lt to Oruwari, to try to break. Oruwari broke it without any effort. He handed another to Oba who also broke it as easily as Oruwari did. He then explained to them that they were unable to break the bundle of broom sticks because it was standing “united”, and that the single broom stick was broken with ease because it was standing alone and unaided. He enjoined Oruwari and Oba to stand together always for a just and upright course as they had been doing, and they could hardly be defeated. He then handed his second daughter, Warigbani to Oba in marriage, and the third daughter, Egberi, to Oruwari, declaring “these marriages will ever keep your children united, no longer as friends but a’s brothers and sisters. He poured out libation to the deities and invoked their mercy to seal the bond of friendship themselves. He then returned his tray (Ekeli) of “Ekeke tamuno” ebe” (juju garret).