The attention of the Attoni Chieftaincy House is drawn to the event of January 12, 2022 in Finima, Bonny Kingdom in Rivers State by the Brown (Buoye Omuso) Chieftaincy Major House, where at the installation ceremony of its chief at the Brown House Opuwari an address was read and is trending in the social media. While the event is ostensibly an internal affair of the Brown Chieftaincy House, it is imperative that the statements put forward in that event, particularly the written address as pertains to the Attoni Chieftaincy House is deserving of our comment, wherefore we want the general public to note as follows:
- The speech delivered on the 12th of January, 2022 is offensive and rooted in anarchy and chaos, not peace seeking but to create disunity that may affect the relative peace in Finima, Bonny Kingdom. Bonny Kingdom is structured and the chieftaincy institution is a fundamental part with 34 chieftaincy houses. These chieftaincy houses are located in different towns and villages including Finima.
- Finima Town in Bonny Kingdom is a constituent of three chieftaincy houses namely; Attoni, Brown and Tobin. All the chieftaincy houses in Finima, Bonny Kingdom were created by the King Perekule dynasty.
- In the Bonny Kingdom, all the chieftaincy houses are constituted by burusu (family unit or lineage) which constitutes the chieftaincy house cabinet, no more no less. While there are fourteen (14) major houses in Bonny Kingdom some with sub houses, the Brown House has no sub chieftaincy house in Finima or anywhere in Bonny Kingdom.
- The Attoni Chieftaincy House is not a sub chieftaincy house to the Brown House; the Attoni House is not a burusu or burusuiyo of or in the Brown House.
- The Attoni House, a duly recognized chieftaincy house, creation of 1800 installs its chief by itself solely in accordance with Ibani custom and tradition. There are five (5) independent Kalawari Houses in Bonny Kingdom namely; Attoni Tobin, Allaputa, Beresiri and Pollyn.
- In Bonny Kingdom, a sub house chief is capped or installed by a major house chief which is not the case with the three chieftaincy houses in Finima who cap and install their chiefs themselves and present same to the Amanyanabo and natural ruler of Bonny Kingdom in accordance with Ibani custom and tradition for admission into the Bonny Chiefs Council.
- In Bonny Kingdom no chief is installed as “Amadabo”. Finima is an integral part of Bonny Kingdom bound by Ibani custom and tradition. Thus the purported installation of an Amadabo in Finima is strange and a further quest of the earlier events of 1990 when a chief of the Brown House erroneously declared himself as the “Amanyanabo of Finima” and sought to create a kingdom within a kingdom, and that was effectively challenged by the people. This recent event in a chieftaincy installation ceremony is a threat to peace and an affront to our age old history as a people. Clearly the purported installation of an “Amadabo of Finima” is provocative, vexatious and misguided as it were in the 1990 incident. Finima is a community with three chieftaincy houses.
- Finima Community lands with sits al the multinational oil companies is not a sole ownership of one chieftaincy house. We all (Attoni, Brown and Tobin) vacated our ancestral abode to give way to these multinational developments, in particular, the Nigeria LNG, ExxonMobil and the Shell Petroleum Development Company facilities are sited on ancestral homes and graves of our forebears. In particular, Nigeria LNG trains 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 is part and parcel of Attoni Chieftaincy House lands including the graveyard.
- In Finima, “wamina mina mina mingi ololobia” meaning the bonds of brotherhood is like water in a bottle. We are interrelated but this bond is often undermined by desire for subservience and dominance of the majority as in Africa and Nigeria in particular. Indeed the essence of equity amongst brethren is better comprehended with a sincere pursuit of purpose but when purpose is distorted and unclean, abuse is inevitable as has been clearly demonstrated in that speech couched for and delivered on 12th January, 2022.
- Finally, we urge the youths not to be misguided, let us dwell on matters of peaceful co-existence and not dwell on acid bath in Finima and shirt and coat. As one of the chieftaincy houses in Finima, the Attoni House believes that peaceful co-existence is paramount. May we all meditate, reflect and ponder over these things and may peace abide.
Long live the Brown, Attoni and Tobin Chieftaincy Houses, Finima
Long live Finima
Long live bonny
Se Alabo Abel A. Attoni, JP
Chief/Head Attoni Chieftaincy House, Finima
Bonny kingdom, Rivers State, Nigeria
16th January, 2022
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BUOYE OMUSO (BROWN) MAJOR HOUSE AND THE MINOR HOUSES [OR KALAWARI] OF FINIMA
The Chief & Head of Buoye (Brown) Major House, is the Paramount Chief and Amadabo of Finima. The Buoye Omuso (Brown) Major House had 3 sub-chieftaincy Houses (Minor Houses) known as Kalawari. These are Attoni House, Tobin House and Adum House. These are all offshoots of Buoye Omuso (Brown) Major House. There are also recognized family units in Buoye Omuso (Brown) Major House known as Burusu, whose Headships constitute the Council of Wari-Alapu of Buoye Omuso (Brown) Major House.
RELATIONSHIP WITH ATTONI MINOR HOUSE
The Attoni House was founded by descendants of Amainye, one of Buo’s slave. Amainye married Buo’s adopted daughter. Because of Amainye’s entrepreneurial potential and loyalty to Buo, Buo gave him money for trade which made Amainye a very rich merchant in his life time.
Amainye begat Doghubo who founded the Attoni House. Doghubo begat Buo-Igbi, Ngeri, Biekiriye-Abobo, Amainye jnr, Oju and Taba. Doghubo had a slave or friend called Eselema who begat Ari-Igobia who begat Abel Adafe.
Eselema was diligent and dexterous so Doghubo before his death in appreciation handed over the control of the entire house including house hold properties, children, money and personal lands to Eselema to hold in trust for the Attoni House, and made him (Eselema) Head and leader of the entire Attoni House.
Eselema held unto this position until sometime in about the year 1837, when trouble broke out between him and the Doghubo’s biological children. Doghubo’s children demanded their father’s keys and properties from Eselema which the latter refused to surrender. This incident happened during the reign of Chief William Abobo Brown, and led to litigation which was adjudged in favour of Eselema against the children of Doghubo. In reaction, Doghubo’s biological children killed Eselema, thereafter their descendants continue to head the Attoni House, up until sometime in 1936 when Mark Attoni, one of their descendants became the first Chief of the Attoni minor House.
After the death of Eselema, the Attoni House suffered series of calamities, including mysterious deaths of men, women and children of the House and depletion of the wealth of the House up until sometime about 1960 – 1962, when a Seer, who was invited by the House, prophesied that, the deaths and woes of the House will only stop if the stool of the Attoni House is given back to the Eselema group to head as Chiefs of the House.
The Attoni House decided to remedy the situation it found itself, and heeded to the advice of the Seer in 1962, when Chief Abel Adafe Attoni[Eselema’s group] was given the stool as the Chief and Head of the Attoni minor House
RELATIONSHIP WITH TOBIN MINOR HOUSE
The history of Tobin house lineage started with Otunte an Andoni man who was captured to Bonny during one of the wars between Bonny and Andoni. Otunte lived and served in the household of King Opubo Pepple of Bonny with other Andoni people. They were assimilated into the Bonny community. Otunte begat Diri and Waribo. Diri begat Konibo. Diri and his son Konibo who were fishermen later moved to and settled in Finima. This was in the time of Buo, the father of Chief Omuso Brown. After Buo’s death, Konibo concubinage relationship with Buo’s lawful wife by name Gbularu and begat a son whom Konibo named Owonte, which was later corrupted to Awanta. Owonte or Awanta was given an Ibani name “Ida-Obusigha” by Buoye-Ogbulu (Buo’s first son).
According to Bonny customs and traditions all children born in concubinage relationship by a woman belong to her lawful husband. Accordingly, Owonte or Awanta belong to Buo’s household.
During the life time of one Abraham Sunday, there was a failed attempt at installing a Tobin House Chief as a sub or minor chieftaincy House under the Brown House. This was during the reign of Chief Henry Buowari Brown, OBE. This attempt failed because of an exhibition of gross insubordination to the Brown Major House.
The son of the said Abraham Sunday, Samuel Owunabo Tobin later became the first Chief of the Tobin minor House of Finima, in 1961 and the Tobin House was thus recognized as a sub or minor chieftaincy House of the Brown Major House in Bonny Kingdom.
The Attoni House decided to remedy the situation it found itself, and heeded to the advice of the Seer in 1962, when Chief Abel Adafe Attoni [Eselema’s group] was given the stool as the Chief and Head of the Attoni minor House.
PARAMOUNTCY OF BUOYE OMUSO (BROWN) MAJOR HOUSE IN FINIMA AND ITS TERRITORIAL SETTLEMENTS
Buoye Omuso (Brown) Major House of Finima does not share any of its territorial Settlements with any other House or Family.
The Territorial Settlements of Buoye Omuso (Brown) Major House of Finima, include; Agia-Okolo, Akusu, Agalanga, Owubipi, Mongolobie (Ajalamonigha-Kiri & Amariari-Kiri), Light House, Finitasingi, Dogokiri, Agaja 1, 2, 3, & 4, Workers Camp, Airport Road/New Road, Government Girls Secondary School, Finima, Mbisughu, Namata, Gum-Kiri, Bregede, Okumakiri, etc. Its territorial Settlements are bounded in the South, by the coastline, and across the Bonny River to settlements in Bregede and others, in the East, by a clear and undisputed boundary with the LongJohn House of Abalamabie, at Gum-Kiri, in the North West, by a creek known as Eresinye-Okolo, behind Bonny Government School Bonny.
As a mark of their ownership of Finima land, and in recognition of their ancestors’ ownership of same, it was the Buoye Omuso (Brown) Major House that exclusively owned the Memorial House, Brown Waterfront, Finima Town Square [aka “Buo Nungo] meaning “Buo’s Square” and Brown House War canoe dock house in the Old Finima Settlement, all of which were replaced in New Finima, when the Community was relocated in 1991. Buoye Omuso (Brown) Major House has also enjoyed and exercised exclusive and maximum acts of ownership over all lands in Finima, by building thereon, granting licenses to non-members of the House to live in their settlements, leasing and allocating parts thereof to non-members of the House as well as third parties, including corporate organizations etc.
The well known and accepted history of the founding and ownership of Finima by the Buoye Omuso (Brown) Major House is documented and also encapsulated in many published books, and journals, some of which are;
(1) “The Trading States of the Oil Rivers” by G. I. Jones, published in 1963, etc, as well as
(2) Weber’s Intelligence Report on Bonny, 1936.
(3) “A History of Grand Bonny” by Professor E. J. Alagoa, published in 1972,
There are also plethora of decided cases on the founding and ownership of Finima some of which are;
(1)Suit No. PHC/174/1972 – Chief Samuel O. Tobin & Others VS Chief Israel I. Brown &Others; this judgment on appeal was affirmed by the Court of appeal in Enugu in Suit No. FCA/E/60/1980 – Chief Samuel O. Tobin & Others VS Chief Israel I Brown & Others,
(2) Suit No: PHC/188/2010 – Chief Y. S. Tobin VS Chief Yibo Buowari Brown & Others,
(3)Suit No: PHC/745/2012 – Chief Young Sunday Tobin & Others VS(i) Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, (ii) Julius Berger Nigeria Plc; (iii) Chief Henry Buowari Brown & (iv)Elder (Barrister) Bara Brown and many other decided cases.
The issue of Paramountcy of the Buoye Omuso (Brown) Major House, in Finima, and the founding of Finima by its ancestors, is well captured and succinctly put on page 99 of the Judgment in Suit No. PHC/174/1972 – Chief Samuel O. Tobin & Others vs. Chief Israel I. Brown & Others, where the trial Judge Hon. Justice O. Inko-Tariah rightly put it thus;
“The Brown House with its paramountcy in Finima as the founders are the owners of all property vested in the Finima village except property in private ownership of individual families”
It is therefore not surprising that, when the early European traders/missionaries arrived at Bonny Island, they found Chief Omoni Jack Brown, who was then the Head & Chief of Buoye Omuso (Brown) Major House and Paramount Chief of Finima, in a position of absolute authority in Finima and relative independence with in the Ibani clan. He was titled the “Governor of Finima”. He also provided sanctuary in Finima to King William Dappa Pepple when the latter returned from exile in 1861, and created enabling environment for the early Christian missionaries to propagate the gospel in Ibani land.