Unassuming, suave and assertive, Solomon Anari Pollyn is one lawmaker whose foray into politics spoke volumes as it appears he came prepared for the task of deploying legislative skills to the benefit of his people in Ward 12 and Bonny Local Government Area in general, as the Councillor representing Ward 12 in the Bonny Legislative Assembly, where he doubles as spokesman of the House.

Among bills he has sponsored is the Repealing of the extant Bonny Local Government Employment Bylaw, and replacement with a new bylaw which seeks to provide a versatile and workable legal framework to assure employment opportunities for both indigenes and residents of Bonny LGA.

As a former Public Relations Officer (PRO) and interim Mayor of the Pollyn Chieftaincy House, Solomon Pollyn deployed his inspiring acumen and legendary sagacity to rally youths of his home community, Kalaibiama to just causes, self-improvement and capacity building. Also, as a former interim Leader of the Bonny Youth Federation (BYF), he also midwifed the processes that saw to the resolution of the intractable crisis that rocked the BYF leading to a peaceful election and transition to the current leadership.

The lawmaker, who is also the General Overseer of the Firmament of God Ministry, is also passionate about the development of his community, Kalaibiama, and Bonny Kingdom, in general, and, in this interview with Kristina Reports’ Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, Godswill Jumbo, elucidates on issues related to the installation of a chief in the Pollyn Chieftaincy House, the origins of the house, and the role of youths in achieving communal stability. Enjoy the excerpts:

Kristina Reports: Good evening Sir, we understand that, a few days ago, you had a ceremony where you capped a new Chief for the Pollyn House. Can you give us an overview of what happened?

Solomon Pollyn: By the grace of God, the few days you are talking about, to the best of my knowledge, we buried our Chief last year, 2018, and immediately after the burial, on the 9th of June, 2018, the elders in their numbers came together and elected a new Chief. So, I’m not aware that few days ago, the same Pollyn House would elect another Chief. The Chief they elected last year on the 9th of June, 2018 is Alabo-elect Bill Pollyn, and I am not aware of this new one you are talking about because to the best of my knowledge it is the Wariseniapu-in-Council that would make or select or go into the process of making a Chief or Chief-elect, to the best of my knowledge.

Okay, so you are saying, in effect, that what happened recently did not actually happen by virtue of the processes, procedures and the protocol of installing a Chief in the Pollyn House. Is that what you are saying?

It is laughable. You know, as Bonny people, we know the way and manner we install a chief when it comes to chieftaincy issue. That is why I said it is laughable because we cannot flout at this point or we cannot run away from the truth. Getting or picking a chief is solely the business of the Wariseniapu-in-Council and I don’t believe that another chieftaincy house can help any other chieftaincy house in picking or selecting who is to be chief in that particular house. So, what happened is laughable. It is mockery. It is modern day slavery. I understand that some few persons from other houses want to enslave the Pollyn House but my God and the God I serve will not allow such a thing to happen.

Now, if we want to look at it critically, on a good day, how does the Pollyn House install a chief? What is the procedure?

Alright, the last chief we buried because we count it from Atam, the First, Atam, the Second, Atam, the Third; our last Chief, Chief Miejenewarima Emmanuel Sunny Pollyn is the Atam, the Ninth, and by the grace of God, Se-Alabo-elect Bill Pollyn will be the Atam, the Tenth. And by the history, from Atam himself, that is the first republic of the Pollyn house. The second republic is from the Chief Ibulu, the third republic is from the Oruibi, the fourth republic is from the Walter Pollyn Senior because we have senior and junior. So, in this fourth republic, let me just leave the other republics. From this fourth republic, we have gotten Chief Walter Pollyn Senior, ask me who or which house that helped us, none! It was the elders, Wariseniapu-in-Council of the Pollyn House that came together in Opu-Irimie Burusu – then they were using there as the Opuwari of Opu-Irimie Burusu – and elected Chief Walter Pollyn, and the very person that capped Chief Walter Pollyn was Opu-Irimie himself.

Your Opuwari was named after this man you are talking about?

No, no, no, no, no, then our Opuwari was under construction during that period

OK, it was in his house…

Yes, we have burusu houses and Opu-Irimie’s house is very close to the ancestral Opuwari. So, he was made the Chief there and then later when they finished the Opuwari itself, they now moved to the Opuwari for confirmation. Now, there was never a time any chieftaincy house, any chief, or any traditional title holder from another house helped to cap or select or crown any of our chiefs-elect from the Walter Pollyn Senior to the Walter Pollyn Junior to late Chief Sylvanus Johnson Pollyn to Emmanuel Miejenewarima Sunny Pollyn. All these persons passed through these processes where the Wariseniapu-in-Council had to come together in their numbers and elect their choice. There is nothing like ‘turn by turn’. There is nothing like ‘blue blood’. There is nothing like ‘red blood’. When the elders in their wisdom have seen you that you are competent, you have the capacity to move the house forward. They shop for you, they call you and they get you. For example, late Chief Sylvanus Pollyn was a well to do business man. The owner of then days Ibani club and guesthouse by name, aka, Orupolo, he was already a self-made man before the elders went shopping and then found him and pleaded with him. Chief Sylvanus Pollyn was not a direct son of Oruibi but he is a brother to Oruibi. Oruibi is the first son of Ibulu. Ibulu is the only son of Atam, who happens to be the founder of the Pollyn house. Atam ye Ibulu is the main name.

As in what belongs to or comes out of Atam?

It is Ibulu. Atam begat Ibulu. Ibulu has four children. Ibulu begat Oruibi as his first son, Oru-Igonikobo as his second son, Oru-Doghubo as the third son. Now, they know them as John but their traditional name is Oru-Doghubo. Then the fourth one is Oru-Ogbulu. Now Oru-Ogbulu has no heir. So, it remains only three. Oruibi, Oru-Igonikobo and Oru-Doghubo, they call them Ndogho but in English, the name is John, the family of John. These are the three principal families that they had other burusu or units that make them principal. OK. Oruibi is the first son. Now, Oruibi begat Walter, Miejenewarima, and eleven other children. Oru-Igonikubo begat Apatamunobomabenyeofori, his daughter, who begat Alayeofori and others. Oru-Doghubo begat Kurubo, Karibi and others. Now, if Chief Sylvanus can become chief, even when he is not the first son, if Miejene can become chief, when he is not from the first son’s lineage, though Miejene’s grandfather was from the first son’s lineage but he is not a son of Walter Senior. He is a cousin, a brother to Walter Senior, his younger brother in that matter. Now, what am I saying? Some few persons are saying that the chieftaincy stool of Pollyn House belongs to their father, the Walter Pollyn Senior. By so doing, they are degrading the status of the Pollyn House because if you count from the Atam to the last Chief Miejenewarima Pollyn is nine but if you count from the Walter Pollyn senior, you can barely count four or five. So, those persons, I don’t know their ulterior motive. I don’t know what they want to achieve. They are saying that it is Walter Pollyn Senior that owns the Pollyn House chieftaincy stool. I want to, here and now, categorically declare to you that it is a lie coming from the pit of hell. It is not true.

The chief-elect that you said was elected last year. What lineage did he come from?

Fine, the Alabo-elect, Bill Pollyn comes from the lineage of Oruibi.

That is the first son of Ibulu?

Yes, and then he came from the lineage of Oruibi and Walter Pollyn Senior but his grandfather is Walter Pollyn Junior, by name, Se-Alabo, late Danagogo Walter Pollyn Junior. The late Danagogo Walter Pollyn Junior begat his mother and his mother begat Bill Pollyn. That is the story.

If I got you well, his father is from the Oruibi lineage…

No, no, no, his mother is from the Oruibi lineage because his grandfather is the late Chief. His grandfather begat his mother then his mother begat him. And his mother was not married out, so he has as much right as anyone else because in Ijaw tribe the mother’s side is even more recognized than the father’s side. And if you take a good look at the Bonny chieftaincy stool, more are of the women and the mother’s side, yeah, more, presently, more. I can name them for you. Most of the traditional and chieftaincy stools are all affiliated or related to women.

Can you name some of them?

Why not? The Allaputa House is one of them, yes, it’s true. I just called the Allaputa but I know that people who know the history of Bonny know that Allaputa and some other houses are related to women. I know that Allaputa is owned by another person only married to the King of Bonny, the then King. Allaputa was brought and owned by Jumbo, and we know Jumbo was also brought by a woman.

That is the mother of Okponkata?

Yes. So, some persons, their mothers were only related maternally.

Are you saying that there has never been a time in the history of the Pollyn house when the elders and members of the Pollyn House went to seek help from another House to help them install their own chief?

Never in the history of Pollyn House. That is why I said this one is laughable, it is a fruitless journey. It will not yield any fruit. It has not, it will not.

Given the circumstance, has there been effort to investigate what actually happened?

What we discovered is that there are some power-hungry people who may play the role of Esau and Jacob and say ‘What is right? Give me a plate of food. I don’t mind if you want to take my right or whatever.’ And they going to Captain Hart House, obviously, they are not in tune with the fact that we have left the proverbial Egypt. And that is more than 85 years ago, we left Egypt.

What do you mean by ‘you have left Egypt’?

The Egypt here is the Captain Hart house. We have left them for over 85 years now.

Was the Pollyn House ever a part of the Captain Hart House?

Okay, that story I have not told you when Atam went for the Andoni/ Bonny war, he had an heir, a son. The son was a minor and Perekule, who happens to be a friend, a childhood friend of Atam, now officially handed over for caretakership, not as owner or as a master. ‘Hold this son of my friend till he comes back’, he handed him to Akunnanyi. That is Adango. It was not long, Adango died and left him for Kunu. By God’s providence, Ibulu grew to adult age under the care of Kunu. The Bonny kingdom, the Alapu-in-Council came together – at that time, a traditional sign was placed in the kingdom and people were running helter-skelter – to inquire what could be the cause of this. And they went to Finima to find out and that is what they were believed in then. What you believe will work for you. For me as a believer, I don’t believe in those things. But it was said that the problem why they were running helter-skelter was coming from the Kalaibiama axis. That they should go and serve the goddess of the town, juju or something: Tolofari. And they said, ‘okay, you come over’. He said, ‘No, my younger brother is there’. ‘And who is your younger brother?’ ‘The son of Atam’.

Who was saying this?

The Brown, who was a servant of Simingi juju. Okpai-Odum and Obidiko begat Oru-Akpa and Oru-Ari. Now, one was married to Brown, one was married by Atam.

We understand in Bonny history that these four men, Okpara Ndoli, Opuamakuba, Asimini and Alagbariyagha, migrated from the central Ijaw area and came to Orupiri where they settled before Alagbariyagha came and discovered Bonny Town. Then, in the course of history, we understand that it got to Perekule who established the first dynasty in Bonny and many people believe that the chieftaincy houses were created by Perekule…

(Cuts in) Yes.

They say he did that in order to change the dynamics to favour him as the first King.

Yes. In fact, that was the first traditional politics.

Are you saying that the Pollyn House was not part of that creation?

No, as a matter of fact, as his best friend, business associate, colleague, he gave him that stool.

So, he created and gave him that stool?

Yes.

So, the Atam Pollyn stool was one of the stools created by King Perekule?

Yes, and that is why we are not under any major house. That is the truth.

Now, having said what you said and given the circumstance, what are the elders of the Pollyn House considering in order to resolve this situation? Are they going to go ahead with the person who has been capped as a chief or are they going to cap the person you said they elected last year?

Yeah, Alabo-elect Bill Pollyn. Now, to be honest with you, there is a brand new caretaker leadership led by Warisenibo Franklin Pollyn, the oldest man by age and the oldest Warisenibo that has sat with chiefs. So, he has been given the authority to pilot the affairs of the house.

When did this happen?

On the 24th day of August, 2019 in our community, there in Pollyn House ancestral home, our Opuwari where the immediate past Chairman and the immediate past Secretary where all there. They summoned the meeting, they presided over the meeting and a motion was moved and the motion was seconded and they bowed out in that meeting that day. They bowed out and they gave the baton of leadership to the Warisenibo that is piloting the affairs. He is the chairman of the house, as I speak.

Who was the chairman that bowed out?

It is Wariopusenibo David Igoni I. Pollyn was an interim Chairman. Before the burial of our late chief, the elders came together and made him an interim chairman. He is not a substantive chairman.

So, you are saying that it is him, the David Pollyn that installed the chief last year?

Fine. One man cannot install. It is the duty of the Wariseniapu-in-Council. On the 9th of June, 2018, a meeting was summoned by the deposed interim chairman, Wariopusenibo David I. R. Pollyn.

By then he was still in charge?

Yes, the elders came together in their numbers in the ancestral Opuwari and picked and installed Alabo-elect, Bill Pollyn on the 9th of June, 2018, this happened.

This was before his removal in August?

Yes. They – Wariopusenibo David Igoni and a few elders – took the matter to the Bonny Chiefs’ Council, the Bonny Chiefs’ Council advised the Pollyn House to go back and resolve their differences. They only talked about the morality of what they did because they know that they don’t have the so called right or authority over midwifing the processes on how each house makes their chief. They will only come for advice, if need be. So, they advised us to go back and make peace. And since then, over 70 per cent of the elders are still with the Alabo-elect Bill Pollyn. So, that is the true position of things, the one you said they made, so far, as I’m concerned, a chief that was made in a foreign land cannot stand.

Was he was not made a chief in Kala-Ibiama

No, not at all.

So, where then?

In his grandfather’s house at Cable Road, Bonny and then they described the house as ‘Pollyn House mini-Opuwari’. In the Ibani traditional setting, there is nothing like mini-Opuwari. Opuwari is Opuwari and somebody’s house cannot be converted to Opuwari except the person will officially hand over the house and then by the consent of the house and the elders, which, to the best of my knowledge, that has not been done.

Now that he has been capped as a chief supposedly by a faction from what you just explained. What if this same faction goes ahead to present him to the Amanyanabo-in-Council? What will the Pollyn House do?

Well, I know that the Amanyanabo-in-Council has the God-given, natural and divine wisdom. He is not the author of confusion just like our most high God. He loves peace because he doesn’t want his kingdom to be divided or be in helter-skelter. I know he will do justice to it, as a matter of fact, I have not heard from him but with what I’m feeling, I know that with what has happened, it is laughable and condemnable. No chieftaincy house, no individual, no group of people can force any member of another chieftaincy house on them to be accepted as a chief or chief-elect. What happened at that Cable Road is a kangaroo arrangement. It cannot stand because it was made on a faulty ground and whatever thing that have been made on a faulty ground cannot stand.

As a matter of fact, I want to categorically tell you that Captain Hart House led by Chief Bob Abbey Hart is not our father, is not our master, and is not our owner. If there is anybody to be called master, it is the Perekule. Let it be officially known that we left (Captain) Hart House since 1934 or 1935. Walter Pollyn Senior won the case. He took the (Captain) Hart House and some prominent men and chiefs in the kingdom to the Ibani Customary Council Court and won the case and then from 1935 we became independent. If you calculate from 1935 till now, it should be about 84 or 85 years. So, we are one of the chieftaincy houses that are not under any major house. If you talk about the Konibo ye Awanta (Tobin) House, the Allaputa House, the Beresiri House, about four or five of us, we are minor independent, as in minor major. So that history, that Egypt that we left over 84, 85 years ago, we cannot come back to it. Egypt was not fruitful that is why God asked his children to move out to a fruitful land. So, our owners, if we are to call master, Perekule is our direct master as far as Bonny Kingdom is concerned. A person owned by two masters, the other one cannot master him. Our owner is Perekule. As a matter of fact, we struggled with Perekule our brother, our friend, our master for today to get money to beget some slaves. So, we are not Perekule’s slaves but we can, by faith today, accept him to be our master rather than be a master of another master

But given the circumstances now, and the propensity for young people to want to take advantage of any kind of conflict situation to cause crisis, what would you advise the people of Pollyn house, especially the youths?

Thank you very much. You see, I was the immediate past youth leader; as a matter of fact, I just handed over the baton of leadership temporarily to an electoral committee. They are to handle and make the election processes very smooth and then hand over to another elected government. As a matter of fact, I am not occupying the position but I’m waiting for official handing over ceremony so that I can hand over their documents, their properties to them. So, as the immediate past leader and leader who stepped aside, waiting for official handover, I will advise that chief-elect making from the point of selection to the election is not the business of any youth. It has not happened in the history of Bonny Kingdom. It is solely the business of the Wariseniapu-in-Council.

So, you mean even you are not qualified?

I am not. I can only come around when I am being called to bring this, bring that as maybe as the elders may want me to and say ‘run down, go and fetch us water’, ‘run down, go and bring us this and that’. But if I’m not invited, I should steer clear and I don’t think I’m directly involved. I’m not directly involved, but I have sympathy. I advise the youths to toe the same path I’m toeing by steering clear of the chieftaincy issue. I want the elders to resolve it.

Does that mean you believe in the capacity of the elders to be able to resolve this issue?

Of course, I believe in them. This is not the first time. As I told you, any chief we present now is the Atam the 10th. If it has happened from one to nine, why won’t I believe? Except I’m not truly born and brought up from Pollyn. I haven’t travelled more than a week without getting to Kala-Ibiama. So, I know and have witnessed about two chiefs. So, I have confidence. It is what majority of the elders are saying. That will be my point too because I know in Bonny customs and traditions, they vote. Either they unanimously adopt or where there is more than one interest, they vote. And in this case, I have seen that it is more than one interest and do you know what happened? They will, first of all, look into the first sonship in Bonny tradition and the first son is Oruibi.  And Oruibi people came together and they conducted election. Bill Pollyn, the Alabo-elect got six votes, Oruibi has eleven burusu. Out of the eleven, two seats do not have a sitting Wariseniapu. So, remaining nine. He got six votes out of the nine. Now, Senibo Miebima J. Pollyn got two votes, Pollyson Pollyn, that made the third nominee, got zero vote.

So, where did one vote go?

The one abstained. So, I believe in the elders and I think and I think and I know that what they have done is the right thing. There is nothing like turn by turn as some people like Igonikon and John house people are saying, ‘it is our turn’. Problem is they don’t even have candidate. Those who are talking about turn and they said that since they don’t have candidate, they want to adopt somebody from another family. With all due respect, we are not like any other tribe, we are Ibani. We are Bonny people. In the selection of chiefs, you will first look into the house of the first son. If there is person, if there is no credible person there, then you look into the second or third. But inside the first son’s house, if there are people, they will have to select by themselves and make presentation to the general council. And Oruibi principal family has the majority. We have nineteen burusu. And in the nineteen, Oruibi alone has eleven. So, the remaining other two principal unit are sharing eight while the Igonikon has only two, the John house has six. As I speak to you, in the John house, two elders have already adopted the Alabo-elect, Bill Pollyn. It is only one elder of the Oruibi that is with the other people. So, these people are now comfortably twelve while the other people are five elders. Can five upturn eleven or twelve? It is not done. So that is the history. So, generally, I’m advising the youths, we all should steer clear. Yes, we may have sympathy, we may have candidates but we are not supposed to play to the gallery. Those who are to make election or selection or voting are purely the elders and I condemn in strong terms the action of that young man who came into the meeting of the elders on the 24th of August, 2019 and stole their minutes’ book, the Pollyn House minute book. I condemn it in totality. It is a fraudulent and criminal act.

Has the person been apprehended?

He is running. He is on the run. The police is looking for them, for him, in particular. He is on the run. He has been served even in the process because he needs to come and explain to the house and to the government why he did what he did. I know that before somebody will get to that extent, he has a lot of groups behind who would assure him that if anything happens they would intervene. They want to go and mob the elders at the village. Yes, so I condemn that action. And unfortunately, it is the same person who is assembling the youth called Concerned Youths of the Pollyn House. There is nothing like Concerned Youths. We have the Pollyn Youths Association and that is the highest. You cannot go and lead, it is a rebel group, as far as I am concerned and I’m calling on the security agencies to invite such a group and ask them what are their aims and objectives. They are rebels. Each time the elders go to their meetings they see group of youths from other tribes and other things. So, that man who stole the minute book should be held responsible for him to give account of all. The elders’ life are at risk now. They are threatened. So, I condemn it. I’m calling on all the youths to please, let’s not involve ourselves directly in all this business.