Some say he thrives in chaos, some say he does well with controversy, but most admire his calm, resilience in the face of disagreement or contrary opinion. Versed, well read and grounded in the issues he accords attention to, Soimi Kaladappa, who identifies himself as the Amadabo of Ishileogono, his home community, took on critical issues implicated in the traditional leadership system of Bonny Kingdom in Rivers State.

He spoke with Kristina Reports Publisher, Godswill Jumbo, when he appeared as guest on Kristina Television’s flagship programme, Community Dialogue. Enjoy the read!

Okay, so, we will begin, Sir, we know your name but you need to tell our viewers who you are before we go into the nitty gritty of this interview.

I am Soimi Kaladappa. I’m a Reverend and also an Agriculturist. I am from the Jumbo family and from Bonny.

Thank you very much for that background. Now, your family, the Jumbo House appears to be the Chieftaincy House of interest in Bonny. Maybe, we can we start the story from there; when we say Jumbo House, what do we actually mean?

I am also Amadabo of Ishileogono, one of the Jumbo families. Jumbo is one of the Houses of Bonny Kingdom an offspring of Perekule. Once in a while, we were answering Jumbo Manilla Pepple. We are among the foundations of Perekule Dynasty. For me, Jumbo is a pillar when we are talking about Bonny with all of historical facts, great exploit and all that is said about the greatness of Bonny from the reign of Perekule, Jumbo, followed by Hart, played a major role. When you talk about our achievement and our greatness today of what is called Bonny today, you talk about Jumbo House. I know other families are there but Jumbo Major House, I can give you beyond proof even the Western World, the Europeans mentioned that Jumbo was prominent and we are too sure that without Jumbo at that time, the old Bonny would have been something else.

Now, you said one of the things you are as per your status is Amadabo of Ishileogono. Recently, there has been this controversy around that title: Amadabo. Some people say by the literal meaning in Ibani is the head of a community and then recently somebody was made the Chief of the Buoye Omuso Brown House and then in proclaiming him as the Chief of the House they also proclaimed him as the Amadabo of Finima and Finima has three chieftaincy houses. Then the other information came out that Oloma as a community also has an Amadabo; and now you say you are also Amadabo of Ishileogono; and then just few days ago there was this court judgment that though Amadabo is the head of a community…

Yes…

But a Chief, who is head of a chieftaincy house cannot bear Amadabo. Now, given your background can you shed some light on this?

It is because we lost history and a lot of metalogue came into place by saying that a lot of people want to replace truth with an alternative. I have a lot of historical facts showing that in the 40s and 50s you have Amadabo in Ayambo, you have Amadabo in Agbalama, you have Amadabo in Ishile-Ogono; you have Amadabo in so many villages. It was our tradition, a constitutional seat from the palace at that time that these are those who are going to take care of the communities. Now, there is this complicated issue about Chief and the Amadabo. Immediately there is a Chief is made from a community, the Amadabo will cease to be the Amadabo because the Chief becomes the Amadabo of the community. The Chief takes over because he is higher and he is the head of the entire family. Now, he becomes the Chief and also acts like the Amadabo of the community. So, if as a Chief, you have maybe four or five villages under your Chieftaincy House, the Amadabo of those communities serve under you. But once the Chief is taken from a community he becomes the Amadabo; that’s why he can be Amadabo and Se-Alabo the same time.

So, that is when we are looking at a situation where the chieftaincy house as a family has one community but what about where for instance, Jumbo House has several communities under it?

I explained it; I said if a family have more than one community; more than five, six or more and you have Amadapu in the communities, there would not be an Amadabo in the community where the Se-Alabo is from. The Chief serves automatically as the head of the community.

Now, what about in the case of Finima, in the case of Abalamabie, in the case of Ayama (Peterside), where you have diverse families?

They make an arrangement; they make like a voting order; like in Oloma, I think the idea was that you have the oldest man. It means nature chooses for them. Where they don’t have that kind of agreement they work their differences and make somebody the Amadabo of the environment. While like in Finima, in Oloma, if you have three families or four families, if a Se-Alabo is there, the Amadabo cannot supersede the Se-Alabo because of our tradition. After His Majesty, comes the Se-Alapu; after the Se-Alapu are the Amadapu because if you go to the communities, the Burusu heads are under the Amadapu. Our history is so organized.

Okay, before we go on somebody, the Chairman of Tobin House, in one of the interviews we had with him recently said that Bonny transitioned from Ama (community system of leadership) to Wari (house system of leadership) under the dispensation of the Perekule dynasty. Do you agree with that?

Yes, before Perekule came, some of the histories we have there was this issue of the stronger gets it all, the survival of the fittest and the arrangement of the founding fathers and all of these things but Perekule came and organized the House, made chieftaincy houses – because, if you look at some of the documented Western history they gave us before that time, they were really not organized. But they have a way they lived. They had an organized way they lived in our native form. You will not say they were not organized because if they were not they will not move so far, for more than 1,000 years. Bonny has a history. So, they if they don’t have an organized way they living but in the more modern times it was Perekule that came and made chieftaincy houses, gave them ranks to make them have a sense of belonging. I don’t know whether you understand.

So, it means that at that point now it was no more a community based leadership. It was now a house based leadership.

Yes.

So, that aligns with the notion of transitioning from Ama to Wari; so where an Alabo, a Wari-Alabo and a Se-Alabo comes into picture, all the Ama is now under him.

Yes, under him.

Okay, now, let’s veer off a bit from Bonny Kingdom issues. Let’s go to your family. Tell us a bit of the Kaladappa family.

Yes, I’m very happy for that; Kaladappa, as a family, we have a little bit consistent. Three years ago, I discovered I was spelling my name in a different form and I suddenly in my research I went and saw my grandfather spelling his name in a different form.

Oh! Really?

Yes, we just write KALADAPPA straight, there was no hyphen, there was no capital letter. So, four years ago I discovered my grandfather was spelling “kala” – hyphenated capital D. Now, in another research again I discovered my great grandfather added “k a l a” and “n d a p a”.

So, in one in one documentation, “Dappa”. 

Yes.

In another one “Ndapa”.

Now, I can’t change that; I grew up seeing my father giving us that name, that way I answered it. So, in my research now, it’s only when I started asking my auntie, my senior Auntie, Amaopuorubo Nnenne; and she said that’s our name. It’s just like as we traveled out of Bonny we started changing to a modern way, so you can sound and it’s easy. Now, who is Kaladappa in Jumbo House? I traced my records after the war, I made some research. I think I went upstairs and researched and in most of the court cases I looked for history in different forms, not the usual way. So, in one of one or two court cases I saw even the testimony of my great grandfather, Kala Ndapa, he described how we managed to become Jumbo. He said that in his court case on that issue of Fubara Manilla; you see you see Benstowe House, Banigo, Fombo, before the Polo Ada shiri; that land was in dispute in 1903 to 1909, I have documents on that judgment. Bristol family came out to go to court about that in that matter. My great grandfather made a deposition in the court saying that they are from Kuruma, that it was a matter about that civil war where they almost wiped them out and they ran to the refuge of Oko-Jumbo and Oko-Jumbo accepted them and he joined the Jumbo family and became Jumbo. To buttress that he is from Kuruma, he mentioned Osai family; and now, I have some references of a meeting of my grandfather with the Bristol family where he was also mentioning that they are from Osai in Kuruma. He now gave the record of Obuama as their village in Kuruma.  

Now, let’s say for almost 150 years we attached ourselves to Jumbo Major House; we became by proxy, Jumbo Major House. I will use the word proxy because he said he agreed with Oko-Jumbo that whenever they were ready to go they can go but he was a Jumbo man. My grandfather became the Secretary General – I have documented proof – of Jumbo House from 1920 to 1950. You know this factional issue has been going on for a very long time. If you see the documents, you will see Jumbo factions. Yes, we have a lot of factions. Some elders, probably, if I want to consider after Oko-Jumbo left, there was a breakdown of the House. If you like it, you can go and read Susan Hargreaves. She described it as the disunity that was caused by one of the Oko-Jumbo’s children. So, it made the whole house go apart.

Now, with this interesting background you’ve given about the Kaladappa family; you know there is this thing in – I think that should be Matthew chapter one – you have that this person is the son of this person, this one begat this person, this one begat this person. Now, you’ve gone back to your great, great-grandfather, now, can we trace that lineage down to your current generation?

We have what is called in the descendants’ tree, the foundational tree of our family from Alagbarigha. We have one of the great, great grand grandchildren of Alagbarigha called Igoni. Igoni begat two children, and among the children he begat, Kaladappa was there. Now, Kaladappa begat Opufakisi, Ralph Soto and their sister. He had one daughter, that’s Ada Ralph, Soto, Opufakisi, Abraham and Kaladappa. Now, their sister never had a child, she was one of these prominent women in Bonny at that time. She was a priestess to a river deity. Soto had just one child. Then he had some children at his Abalamabie station, they are still there answering Kaladappa at Abraham Hart. Now, Abraham Opufakisi had 11 children, six females and five males; among them, my father, Stephen. I think I can boast with my father’s reproduction system. He had the highest in Bonny as at that time. My father had almost 39 children, 25 still alive.

Is it from one wife?

He had six wives, he married them…

Oh! I can imagine, he was like our own version of King Solomon…

Yes, he married all of them, the six wives, he married all of them. He said he wanted them to have legal right in Bonny. So, all the wives, even the last one he married that did not produce a child, he still married her. So, now my father had Soimi Kaladappa, currently, I think I will add my title. I am the Amadabo of Ishileogono. I will not add Senibo because Amadabo is a higher than Senibo. I am Amadabo of Ishileogono currently serving as head of one of the Jumbo communities in Bonny.

Then you have your siblings?

I have, I’m having about five of them.

So, we now look at recently there were these issues of who is senior to who and who is ahead of who and all of that and I was thinking that maybe now that you’ve given this background, probably, we never know who needs this, can we like maybe put dates to it, maybe create some background so that maybe somebody who is watching this interview will be able to say okay this person was born this period and then from this period to this period?

I will try with the best information I have with my fathers and let me start with me; first, I was born September 21st, 1964. My father was born in February 12th 1940. My grandfather, I can’t really say because of the date, I can’t factor the month but the age we saw on record was that he died in 1960. The age on his tomb is 75 years. Abraham Opufakisi was born 1885 because of the date on his grave is December 1885, that’s when he was born because we only came to see the second burial when the monument at his grave site was already done. What they recorded was 1885. He died about 75 years old. Now, his father that we buried in the village, Ada Kala-Ndappa, they said he was born in 1913. He was born 1816. I don’t have a document because we can only see the grave site and what is recorded there; that’s what you can use, March 1816.  

It’s unfortunate when sometime when you meet some of our brothers, the Jumbo boys. Sometimes, I want to wonder if they really understand the dynamics of our lineage. If you don’t know somebody you start to explain his foundation. I know of a senior brother here – I know he’s my senior, maybe, two three years I don’t know. So many of our Jumbo brothers, particularly, you see some people, they start to claim a right they don’t have and as their lineage. You start to wonder because I know this man called Ipiriala Jumbo from Agbalama; and I know that he has a father called Kurubo.

I know a lot of us don’t even want to understand our family background. I’ve taken time and money to make research about not just my family but other families because I want to at least put some records straight about our history, our foundation, our Bonny history; not just Jumbo because there’s a lot of false information in circulation. I know this my brother called Ipiriala, I really want him to – if maybe, I’ve given a wrong information about him – he should come back here and respond. If he comes back to respond I would be happy and if I gave a wrong information about him, he clears me. Also, on my own, I think I have presented myself. He is the son of Kurubo in Agbalama. I know his father because at my age, I know when his father died because his senior brother, Teke is my uncle’s friend. The man that begat his father, Cyrius, I don’t know but that is what I got that he, Cyrius begat Kurubo; and the one that begot Kurubo was a ward to Omoni. You know what a ward is, he is not a direct son and I want to use the correct modern word if not if it is before you would use slave. Ward is the new fancy word for slave.

Slave trade has been abolished…

So, you want to use another word, ‘ward’, “Asima pamato” is word of Omoni; that is the word of Edward Omoni. Our history recorded that he does not have any child. If you look at it now as his lineage, Omoni too is also a ward of Oko-Jumbo. Yes, he was one of the good wards of Oko-Jumbo.

Edward Omoni was Oko-Jumbo faithful ward. I am too sure of our history. If I’ve given the lineage wrongly, I want him, Ipiriala to come to Kristina Reports to disprove me. There is no harm in trying to explain our history. Like I said, I can proudly tell you that in my family is Kala-Ndappa, we don’t have any ward. From Igoni we don’t any ward Igoni. Adaugo died in the civil war. Adaugo with Kaladappa had Mama Atili that followed Kaladappa first to Egelebie, and secondly to Amachunta, formerly called Ama-Asasa; it’s in recent times they started changing it to Amachunta. Now, she left there and some of our branches of our family followed her to Oloma, where you have my auntie. Then they had their sister who is Osunju; Osunju had Dada Sunday, Dada Sunday had Nnenne that is still living at Dappa Posie. Kala-Ndappa had Abraham like I said before, with Soto and the other two. Now, Soto had just one child that had some children, our siblings from Kala-Ndappa. So, in our direct lineage we never had wards; maybe the war cleared our wards but currently we don’t have anything like wards in my family lineage.

So, unlike Mr. Ipiriala’s family you don’t have wards…

Yes.

But, was it like there was some form of contention between you and him?

Yes, that’s why I want to put the records straight for him. I want to go online so that he should come also and defend himself because he said I was of a slave stock to Jumbo family. That’s why I’m using the ward for him but he said I was a slave stock to Oko-Jumbo. But I have documents to prove how we managed to join Oko-Jumbo. Jumbo as a family was formerly Pepple family, Manilla Pepple family; and we are also the Pepple family. So, after the war they wanted the stronger family to protect us.

Now, given how vast you are in this, is there something like maybe an advice you want to give to the younger generation, especially, the upcoming generation of Bonny people?

For more than 50 years – it’s unfortunate – I don’t even know my family. You’d be shocked. I don’t even know. Until this morning, this money we want to share came and I filled form for Kala Burusu. Reaching there, my blessed memory came in like an inspiration. Late Architect Hamlet gave me the inspiration. He told me I was not a Jumbo, that I was a Jumbo by proxy. I was not normal for three days. I did not know. So, I woke up and I said look I’ll find out who I am. You’ll be shocked I went to the Archive at Port Harcourt, Degema, Enugu, and Cross River. I went to look for Jumbo, Kaladappa. I did not see. I came back, the first journey was just wasted. I came back but after praying, I asked myself, ‘are you sure the story of Manilla Pepple is not true?’ I went out again to go and look for Manilla Pepple, that’s where I saw Jumbo stories. The history of Jumbo Major House is embedded in Manilla Pepple family. So, if Hamlet said I was not a Jumbo, he is right. It’s also wrong because if I am Pepple in Jumbo, I am Jumbo, I am also Pepple.  

So, what I have as advice for the younger generation is to find a way because nobody will tell your story better, nobody will really tell your story better because everybody wants to hide one lie or the other to show superiority of their family. I want the younger generation in Bonny to look for the story, the current stories of our existence in Bonny, and a lot of people have so much demonized this our foundation. Okrika, Kalabari and others, as far as I’m concerned their issues have been overtaken by events they don’t have any time for this issue. They are moving on. They don’t even have time. They don’t devalue you if you’re from the slave stock. They give preference to you too. There’s this demonizing mindset if you want to say my parents are from the foundation of the slave stock of their family. That’s what happening. You can’t even make mockery of the person.

So, whether you are freeborn or slave stock, you claim right in the person that brought you. You have right in the family that brought you. I’ll give you one good example. My younger brother, when he died: when we wanted to go and meet their mother’s family in Okrika; it was not the family that gave birth to the mother – the father and mother that gave birth to that my younger brother’s family. It was the family that brought the grandmother we went to see and they chased way the family that gave birth to the mother, claiming right that it was their child. But in Bonny, you don’t you see it. They demonize it and because of that some elders that came out from that background are creating the language I call metallogue, that is replacing one history with history with another history. So, if we want to do any good like I think I listened from you said, everybody is trying to say one history or the other and everybody is looking to His Majesty; no, history is scattered all over and if we put our heads together we can get the right history and probably when we know the truth most of this disagreements will go away.