Jaja of Opobo

Who was Jaja of Opobo?

Jaja of Opobo was a merchant prince and the founder of Opobo city-state in an area that is now part of Nigeria. Born in Umuduruoha, Amaigbo, in Igboland, he was sold at about the age of twelve as a slave in Bonny. Jubo Jubogha later took the name "Jaja" for his dealings with the British.

Jaja proved his aptitude for business at an early age, earning his way out of slavery; he was enculturated according to Ijaw rituals and eventually established himself as head of the Anna Pepple House. Under Jaja's leadership, Anna Pepple soon absorbed a number of Bonny's other trade houses until an ongoing dispute with the Manilla Pepple House led by Oko Jumbo forced Jaja to break away as Opobo city-state in 1869.

Opobo soon came to dominate the region's lucrative palm oil trade, and was soon home to fourteen of what were formerly Bonny's eighteen trade houses. Jaja also moved to block the access of British merchants to the interior, giving him an effective monopoly; at times, Opobo even shipped palm oil directly to Liverpool, independent of British middlemen.