Our conversation with the Amadabo of Ishileogono, Soimi Kaladappa, started earlier with his reply to his critics wherein he asserted that he requires no authorization to bear his title: Amadabo (Ibani Language for Community Head) or conduct his official duties in his native language. In that interview, he also asserted the need to entrench the rendering of titles in Bonny and Opobo Kingdoms in Ibani Language, pointing out that agelong benefits that has accrued to the Ibani ethnic nationality, a subset of the larger Ijaw ethnic nationality, which incidentally is the fourth largest ethnic group in Nigeria.

In his usual fiery style, Mr. Kaladappa, in the second tranche of this interview with Kristina Reports Publisher, Godswill Jumbo, delivers volleys of shots at activities he finds strange because, according to him they are conducted in foreign languages. These he lists as chieftaincy installations, masquerade displays, etc, while harping on the linkages between the language of a people and their cultural identity. It sure makes an interesting read. Enjoy!

Kristina Reports: Do you see a connection between people speaking their language and their cultural identity?

Soimi Kaladappa: We had we had a revival yesterday. The Ogbobiri Asawo tried to organize a revival of Ibani Language and I wanted to present the paper but I think I did not conclude it very well. Let me use this opportunity to say something. There is this writer, a German writer, Kohler, he described how the Bonny people in their language were so secretive; that the Bonny language was different from even the Brass, Okrikans, Andonis. It took them time to understand the Bonny language. They had to hire children and take them to the vessel keep them six month learn their language because Bonny people refused to teach them. That’s what the man wrote; and I tell you once they discovered our language that’s what they used in cracking us up. Bonny – go and check history – they said Bonny seaport during the salve trade exported four times what all the African nations exported. Out of the 300,000 slaves that were exported from Africa, Bonny exported almost 300,000. So, how did they survive with trade? Code! What was our code? Our language. There was a secret in code.

I watched a documentary of the German and Americans. How did the Americans defeat the Germans? They discovered their coding. Immediately, they discovered their coding they could use it to anticipate what they are doing. The same thing in companies today, you have espionage going on. This company trying to put spy in this other company. They want to understand what they are doing in secret; the language they speak in secret. Code! Check the definition of code. Bonny people had a finer code they were using for business and they were strong then. By 1450, Bonny sent an ambassador to Portuguese. It means they respected a nation, a tribe, a people. We lost it. When we lost it that’s when we got to where we are now. They discovered our code and they used it to divide us. Go and check; the white man was writing Jaja’s letters but our King, George was writing his own letter telling the white men; “Don’t disturb us again. We know how to settle ourselves”. It’s a record, history has it all. I think for this few days I’ve come through that history. So, our language is what that identifies us.

There’s an aspect of this that actually been training among the youths some of them I expressed the worry that when they go for family meetings either chieftaincy house level, at the burusu level or at the community level, these meetings are conducted –  if they are conducted in English, maybe fair and good. People went to school but when they want to speak in the language in some of these communities or families, they speak in Igbo instead of Ibani, and some of them have come on social media and are like, what can be done to reverse this trend? I’m sure in your presentation yesterday at the program at Ibani-Se Hall, you must have made some recommendations on the way forward for this language renaissance, recovering the Ibani Language?

In my brief presentation, I said the parents should be held accountable for what is happening including me. I have to now put a measure. I pointed to somebody who is among us there, the Ibani teacher that is teaching my children at adulthood. You must greet me in Ibani Language. You must say ‘Ibama’, you must ‘Iboma”; Imuari, Bonye fighi, Mu aziza ma debo, Itenga mauri. All those common language, start to practice it in your house. Tell your people, tell your people, tell your people; all of them, ‘look, see what I want you to do’. I displayed because I wanted to build it into the presentation, I came and purposefully went and sat with the children. I saw where adults are sitting but I left there and went and sat with the children. The children that came or the quiz. I wanted it to be an example that we adults now, all of us are adult children in the Ibani and all of them agreed with it. I think the expression was in agreement. I think almost everybody was agreeing to it.

So, what do you propose the parents, the children should start doing now?

We start to learn Ibani now. There is an adage that says any day you wake up from sleep that’s your morning. We should start to learn it if we want to go back to our greatness. It was our dialect those coded dialect that they could not understand that made us great because even the strongest nation if you can’t have a code that the other person will not understand he will be brought down easily so we must go back to learning Ibani Language.  

Before we let you go, now, how about within the corporate environment – for instance, some of us who today can speak the language had this advantage of learning the Ibani Language when we were in primary school. It was part of the curriculum, the educational curriculum. It was being taught as a subject right from primary to secondary school and then you know we learned the alphabet. We learned the numbering system and then the combination of words just like the same thing you do with English, A B C D, and then ‘UP I GO’ and then ‘Ndappa mu ari’, ‘Ndappa Da bo ari’, and all of that, and then at some point, the Ibani Language and several other Nigerian languages were pulled out from the curriculum. Some people are making efforts now to bring them back. What do you think Bonny Kingdom can do to restore the language to the curriculum?

Wike tried. People can blame him doing wrong, yes, I agree totally. He also tried in some things he did. Wike made sure that every locality and tribe can teach their dialect in the school. It’s there. Rivers State Government approved Ibani to be taught in Ibani language, Okrika to be taught in Okrika Language, Ikwerre to be taught in Ikwerre Language; that it should be part of the curriculum of the school. So, it rests on us now the adult. One of our elders who spoke last said he believes in practical. He wrote in Ibani Language and gave to people to read and only a few persons could understand what he wrote there. I was among them because I have an advantage. My mother is from Kalabari, so, I have a little bit advantage to hear Ibani Language even though my Ibani can be foggy but I can speak Ibani but not fluently. But for the few weeks my daughter is joining us her tongue is changing better than my own. It’s the truth.

So, your last words to the people of Bonny people, then the Ibani: Bonny Kingdom and Opobo Kingdom, what would you want to tell them at this point in our history as a people?

I would say this is the peak of an opportunity in our life. Why do I say so? Out of even dead things you can see life. Out of the whole thing that is happening in the political space, you can see hope and dreams with the Ibani people; if you understand what I’m saying. So, if an Ikwerre man can go to so much length to do what he did it means an Ibani man also can do and do better. We need every person, every family, every chief, every burusu head, every community head, everybody to start to do something. Like Nwaotam day, we should learn to tell Nwaotam people to stop singing in Igbo Language. All the groups should practice and change to Ibani Language and sing with Ibani, no matter how they sing it but it should sound like Ibani. It’s the only thing I can use to argue with Igbo people who ask me about the slave trade.

Let me tell you that by the international law of purchase, they are not Igbo people anymore because I can’t go to the market now and buy this phone and you come back to claim that the phone is your own. It’s my own now. At a time, the Ijaw people came and bought your people, took them to Ibani land, incorporated them to Ibani, today they are Ibani people.  So, you’re not an Igbo man anymore.

So, they are the property of the Ibani people…

Yes, they are Ibani. So, everybody including the King – I know he’s worried about it – look at me, one time we were having an argument they brought out the ceremony of the installation of a chief and almost everybody was speaking Igbo language. The Igbo people use it to mock us. Speak Ibani; bring people who can speak Ibani, those who cannot speak can be answering ‘Anim’ (Yes), ‘Anam’ (I hear you), ‘Iduo ari nye, anam’ (What you are saying, I heard you).

‘Oko-or’ (It is like that)

Yeah, ‘Oko-or’, then the ceremony will look like Ibani people’s ceremony. Not ‘Inhe ikara kwa ta, otuo ko owu’ (Igbo for what you said today, so it is). Then you see the mockery will continue. With the little life I have I will try to put my own effort to make sure that my surrounding, my community, until they say they don’t want me anymore because it is a hiring position. Even burusu head is a hiring position. You are hired for purpose and time and when that time expires, you go hire somebody else; that’s if they hire you, if you serve well they keep you long but if you don’t serve well they sack you.

So, you now that is answering a title that is so controversial?

Not controversial, thought. It’s just lack of understanding. Ama, it means is the title from the king of the land saying these people are worthy citizens of the Kingdom; Amaseniapu, Amaopuseniapu and Amaopuereapu. It is better we know the interpretation in Ibani Language than we deceiving ourselves. We are not English people. We are not English for God’s sake. Anybody that says he wants to challenge me should go and look for the language. Amanyanabo in Ibani is king in English Language; Se-Alapu is chiefs, Kiridaapu or Polodaapu are community heads or governors or representatives from the communities, Wariseniapu are elders or heads of families or family units, Seniapu are the elders that complement the heads of the family units. Amaseniapu are the titled citizens. If they want to interpret the Igbo Language the way that they will understand, Amanyanabo is Onyenweala, Chief is Onyenachiala, Onyenelegideala, community head, Ekeremeulo, family elder; that’s what they prefer to answer. Kaw u ekereme ulo.

Which is a language that is foreign…  

Foreign, it’s not our Ibani Language for God’s sake. That’s what I am only trying to advocate for and we’ll do more to help our people think in the direction and I want anybody to challenge me that what I’m interpreting is wrong then I can come back to you again.