King Jaja of Opobo's full name is Mbanaso Okwara Ozurumba, he was born in 1821 at umuduruoha, Amaigbo village in the Orlu district, now Imo state. .Jaja was sold into slavery by the enemies of his father to Bonny kingdom,at Atlantic Coast of Bight of Biafran land. .As a youth, he worked as a peddler on his owners great trade canoes,travelling to and from the inland market quite early,he demonstrated exceptional abilities and business acumen and won the hearts of the local people as well as those of the European merchants that buy palm oil from Biafran Atlantic coast. .JAJA through his honest,business sense, and amiability soon became prosperous. .The man that bought JAJA as a slave died and the royal family at Bonny owes Europeans 10,000 and 15,000 pounds and all the people in the royal family refuse to pay the debt, Jaja in two years paid all the debt. .By 1567, his remarkable success had become common knowledge throughout Bonny. .The British consul to the area, Sir Richard Burton, had cause to remark that although Jaja was the "SON OF AN UNKNOWN BUSH MAN",he had become the most influential man and greatest trader in Atlantic coast of Biafran land.The success of Jaja later attract envy which makes the Bonny people to start attacking him. .Jaja with wisdom left Bonny and discover Opobo where he has many that followed him there and he became their king.The British firms that buy Palm oil followed Jaja to the place he relocated and began to trade with him as usual at Opobo,while other British company transferred their depots there by May of 1870, the Jaja revolution had driven the DEATH-KNELL on Bonny's economy.For 18 yrs, Jaja ruled his kingdom with firmness and remarkable sagacity.He strengthened his relations with hinterland palm oil producers in Biafran land.Through judicious marriages and blood covenants which bonded the parties into ritual kingship.He armed His traders with modern weapons for their own defense and that of the Biafran coast.He thus monopolized trade with the palm-oil producers and punished severely any community that tried to trade directly with the European supercargoes. .In 1873, the British recognized him as king of Independent Opobo, and Jaja reciprocated by sending a contingent of his soldiers to help the British in their war against the Ashanti kingdom in the Gold Coast(Now Ghana).QUEEN VICTORIA of England expressed her gratitude in 1875 by awarding him a sword of honor. .Jaja now buys palm-oil from Igbo land and sell to the British which the British don't like, they wants to deal directly with the locals but in the 1880's, the clouds of British Imperialism were closing in menacingly on Opobo,"the overthrow of Indigenous People of Biafra and it's sovereignty having been initiated by John Bee-croft, the first British consul to Biafran land.British imperialism had begun to assert itself forcefully on Biafran land. .Officials on the spot were increasingly ignoring the Indigenous authorities of Biafran officials that work for Jaja. .British traders directly now trades with Biafran palm oil traders against Jaja's assertion. .JAJA resisted the British imperialist madness on the Indigenous people of Biafra and that what brings about the GENESIS OF Jaja's problem with British men. . . .EPISODE TWO COMING To complete the story. All hail Biafra.
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