Amanyanabo’s Guidelines on Land Acquisition in Bonny Shows Wisdom – Chief Dan-Jumbo

Recently, the largest chieftaincy house in Bonny Kingdom, Jumbo House surged up its quest to recover and assert ownership over its assets, aa move that instantly elicited both controversies and commentaries. Some wondered where they had been all along, while some wondered how they were going to manage the resources given the intractable crisis that the beleaguered House has been enmeshed in for almost 30 years now.

Internecine crisis, myriad litigations, jaded institutions, criminal cases against some key players, and several futile efforts to install a new chief since the demise of the last one, have ultimately ensured that the House does not find its footing in the scheme of things in Bonny, Rivers State and Nigeria, despite being co-landlord to several high-profile economic assets of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

In this interview with Kristina Reports Correspondent, Promise Tambari, one of the Jumbo House Chiefs, Se-Alabo Clinton Ibiwari Gibson Dan-Jumbo, Jene IV, who is the Chief and Head of Dan-Jumbo House, elucidates on the issues of asset retrieval, management and investment of the House, highlights the agelong role of the traditional head of the Bonny people, the Amanyanabo of Bonny Kingdom, as well as offers some advisory to investors and business making ingress into Bonny to do business. Enjoy the read!   

Chief, recently there has been an upsurge in efforts by Jumbo House to reclaim and assert ownership over its assets, what’s going on, Sir?

My dear, the truth is that in Bonny Kingdom, land is owned by families and families must protect their assets, especially, at a time like this, when the Kingdom is made up of mixed multitude. If families do not take the responsibility of protecting their assets, the efforts of their ancestors would be in vain. For us in Jumbo House, and whenever you hear me use the term Jumbo House, I am referring to the three brothers – Jumbo Main House, Dan-Jumbo and John Jumbo. So, for us in Jumbo House, we understand more than any family in Bonny that our forebears secured these assets for us through heroism, bloodshed and financial losses. We shall therefore be wastrels to allow the efforts of our ancestors to be destroyed or stolen. As for me and all Dan-Jumbos we shall not allow this to happen, my great-grandfather, Chief Jene Dan-Jumbo, was recorded as a major financier of the Ibani na Madu or Opobo and Bonny war which availed the Jumbo House most of these assets which is why one court judgement in favour of the Jumbo House refers to these assets as proceeds of war. Even the Jumbo House constitution acknowledges this fact. So, a short answer to your question as to why there is an upsurge in efforts to reclaim and even protect Jumbo House assets is because we don’t want to be seen as wastrels. We want to preserve what our ancestors left for us for our children’s children.

If we envisage a successful retrieval of these assets, what next steps are there on how to manage them?

As you already know, I am not the Chief of Jumbo Main House, but, I am one of the Chiefs of Jumbo House and God willing and with God’s guidance, I will do everything within my powers to ensure Jumbo Main House gets a Chief…and not just any Chief, but one who fears God and is ready to work for the House and not his pocket. When God provides us such a person, we, the three Chiefs of Jumbo House together with the family heads that constitute the innermost cabinet or nucleus of the Jumbo House as well as Principal members of the House shall develop a blueprint for the development of the House and our people.

I grew up in this same House seeing my grandfather, Chief Gabriel Ogbupara Dan-Jumbo, work in harmony with his brothers Chief John Jumbo and Chief A. D. W. Jumbo. And before them I read from archived documents how Needham Jumbo would engage and communicate in writing with Chief Emmanuel Erefa Dan-Jumbo on all matters relating to the Jumbo House. Nothing was done without brothers consulting with themselves until, the appearance of few usurpers who on realising that there was no Chief Jumbo or Chief Dan-Jumbo decided to usurp our commonwealth.

On my watch, conscious effort shall be made to rebuild the Jumbo House and position it as a model for other Houses. No Chief shall administer the House without consultation; the assets shall be used for wealth creation for the House and every kobo that comes into the House must be accounted for and used for the development of our people via job creation and human capital development. How can we be landlord to SPDC now Renaissance and even NLNG, as I am aware our land was ceded to NLNG by SPDC for the Train 7 project? So, how can we be landlord to these conglomerates and still live in poverty? How can our sons and daughters not be on House scholarships?

This trend must change on my watch as a Jumbo House Chief. I am sure you are aware, that I am a developmentalist. I shall work to ensure the development of not just Dan-Jumbo House, but Jumbo Main House and John Jumbo Houses. God willing, the Chiefs of John Jumbo House and Jumbo Main House will not have any choice, but to work with me to grow Jumbo House and make it the envy of other Houses. Enough of us being called “BIG FOR NOTHING”. I am also aware, that in this effort there will be detractors and those who were benefiting from the current state of things in the house and their agents will fight back through misrepresentation, misinformation and lies. But because my hands and heart are clean and most importantly, I lean on God to undertake this task of sanitising the Jumbo House, they shall all be disgraced by God if they don’t amend their ways and allow the House to move forward.

Considering that the Amanyanabo of Bonny Kingdom is the custodian of all things Bonny, and his drive to attract investments into Bonny, would this renewed quest by Jumbo House and other Houses not hurt his efforts?

No! No! No! No! This quest will in no way hurt his efforts. As a matter of fact, this quest will complement his efforts and create the enabling environment for the much-desired investment His Majesty, the Amanyanabo is striving to attract to the Kingdom. Remember, even he, the Amanyanabo, made it clear in writing that lands belong to families and that he is a consentor, urging investors to come to him for proper guidance and engagement with families who own lands they wish to acquire.  

I am convinced His Majesty will be happy that the right steps are being taken to restore order in the Jumbo House, which it will interest you to know that he is part of. In light of this I believe his interest is aligned with mine and that of the members of the Jumbo House who are tired of hearing that individuals have stolen the house dry.

What do you consider the best approach for investors coming to Bonny as per securing land for their businesses?

The best approach in my view remains the one outlined by his majesty in the document I referred to above. The Amanyanabo, wisely stated in that document which I am paraphrasing, that if an investor wants land, it approaches the Amanyanabo, who identifies, the family that owns the land, negotiation is had and then he acts as consentor. With this approach there can never be problem.

Take for instance the recent incident where Jumbo House youths chased away a company, I think Chairborne or whatever they call them. This shouldn’t even happen if the guidance the King has provided for them has been strictly followed where they consult with him and he directs them to the relevant family which is supposed to give them the land that they need there would be no issue. But for a company to circumvent all of these processes and go into a family land – and not just any family but the largest family in Bonny Kingdom, the Jumbo House – is not an insult to the Jumbo House but to His Majesty, the King, who designed this process, and by extension the Bonny people at large.