The Amanyanabo and Natural Ruler of Bonny Kingdom, His Majesty, King Dr Edward Asimini William Dappa Pepple has received plaudits for his vision of reviving Ibani Culture and reminiscence of Ibani Language through the ‘Bonny Historical Experience’.

This commendation is coming from the Bonny Collective, a volunteer group in Bonny Kingdom, which organized the Bonny Historical Experience, a one-day historical tour, which featured about 60 youths representing various chieftaincy houses in Bonny Kingdom.

A statement signed by the Leader of the group, Adolf Pepple and posted on social media on Tuesday, November 15, 2022 said that the tour commenced from Government School, Bonny to the King Perekule Palace and then to the Bonny Consulate Building.

The Bonny Collective, in the statement, thanked His Majesty, King Pepple III for his support which it stated made the programme a success, stressing that it was in furtherance of his developmental vision, which included cultural renaissance.

“Let me thank His Majesty, our beloved King for supporting us and making this programme a huge success. Without His Majesty’s support, we wouldn’t have been able to do something of this magnitude. We thank God we have a father that supports noble ideas and great initiatives.”

Pepple, who informed that the “Bonny Collective comprised of very responsible and committed Bonny men and youths, who are totally loyal to Bonny Kingdom and are desirous of her unity, development and prosperity’, called on the people of the Kingdom, especially youths, to align with the developmental vision of the Bonny Monarch, which it said was aimed at sustaining the economy of Bonny Kingdom beyond the era of oil and gas.

He explained that the purpose of the excursion was to discountenance the wrong narratives being fed youths about Bonny Kingdom, which he noted has become prevalent and which proliferation has been amplified by social media.

A young Bonny historian, Rossphilips Irims was engaged during the tour to educate, enlighten and explain certain landmarks and cultural relics and how they relate to Bonny history to the participants with a view to clearing their doubts and erasing entrenched sentiments and ambiguities.

At the Perekule Palace, the anchor, Rossphilip Irims, used the engravings on the wall to explain Bonny’s historical antecedent as the export point from the slave trade era to the period of palm oil business to coal and the present dispensation of oil and gas.

He asserted that the King’s vision of diversifying Bonny’s economy from oil and gas to tourism is justified, considering that other economic mainstay before oil and gas remarkably came to an end eventually.

At the Bonny Consulate Building, Irims said the resuscitation of the Consulate was a clear indication that the Bonny Monarch was “very serious to drive his vision of making Bonny the Tourism hub of not just Nigeria but Africa, informing that “when fully operational, the Consulate would take care of a lot of things as well as provide the information any visitor would need concerning Bonny Kingdom”.

The Resource Person stressed that His Majesty, King Edward Pepple’s love for the youths is why his agenda and vision are youth-oriented and targeted at making life meaningful for them, calling on the youths to reciprocate by remaining totally loyal to the throne and committed to the success and prosperity of Bonny Kingdom.

The Leader of Bonny Collective, Adolf Pepple also expressed appreciation to Samuel Benedict Jumbo for providing all the technical support and cooperation the group needed, describing him as a “lover of His Majesty and the Kingdom”, urging the youths to emulate him, while also praising the participants for their orderly conducts during the tour.