Nembe: Venice of the Niger Delta?

                A collage of Venice ( Photo source: Wikipedia)

If not for the discovery of crude oil in commercial quantity within its precinct, Nembe, an ancient kingdom situated in the Niger Delta would perhaps have a reputation as a tourist haven, same way Venice, historically known as the Floating City does. Not less marshy than the Venetian lagoons of the Adriatic Sea in northwest Italy, Nembe also enjoys a similar status as an important center of commerce in the pre-colonial era. During this period, the people of Nembe and their coastal neighbours of Bonny, Kalabari, Okrika and Opobo were undisputed masters of the Palm Oil trade.

Random photographs from across the Niger Delta

Nembe flourished. It built up internal governance structure, statecraft, cultural refinement and urban development to a level that remains to this day, a landmark in Nigerian history. Artifacts discovered within the ancient Niger Delta kingdom dates back to over 700 years, while excavations in the course of oil exploration activities also indicated that agriculture had thrived in the area 3000 years ago. In fact, the oldest evidence of palm tree cultivation in West Africa was in Nembe. 

More so, compelling historical evidence from the study of the language of its people, the Ijaws, also indicated that it was about 8000 years old - making it the oldest Nigerian language. The date of the foundation of the old Nembe Kingdom, one of the oldest surviving kingdoms in Africa is unknown. Present day Nembe, which spans Nembe and Brass local government areas in Bayelsa State, has a complex territory and a strategic location, which gives it preeminence in the Niger Delta. 

Crude Oil Export Terminal, Niger Delta

Brass, the site of one of Nigeria’s seven oil export terminals, is at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. To the north of Nembe is Ogbia - the community where oil production first began with the discovery of the Oloibiri oil fields in 1956. To the east is the community of Bassambiri with whom Nembe has been in conflict with for centuries. However, other Nembe speaking communities such as Bassambiri, Beletiama, Egweama, Liama, Okpoama and Twon-Brass, among others contend that Nembe is a common heritage which one community cannot lay exclusive claim to. 

With the arrival of Europeans on the coast, the Nembe kingdom became a trading state, but was relatively poor compared to Bonny and Calabar. European traders knew the area as "Brass" based on the people's use of the phrase "ba ra sin" when trading, meaning, "I don't accept that deal", and at first used "Brasstown" to refer to the inland city of Nembe. Later they used "Brass" to refer to the coastal town of Twon, now known as Twon-Brass.

Ijaw Masquerade

The Nembe slave trade picked up in the second quarter of the 19th century when the British attempted to suppress slavery by blockading the ports of Bonny and Calabar. The position of Nembe town 30 miles up the Brass River became an advantage in these circumstances. However, with dwindling demand for slaves, by 1856 the palm-oil trade had become more important and trade had moved to Twon/Brass on the coast. 

After 1884, the Nembe kingdom was included in the area over which the British claimed sovereignty as the Oil Rivers Protectorate. The Nembe, who by now controlled the palm oil trade, at first refused to sign a treaty, and fought to prevent the Royal Niger Company obtaining a trade monopoly. In January 1895 the Nembe King William Koko led a dawn attack of more than a thousand warriors on the company's headquarters at Akassa, which triggered a retaliatory raid in which the British destroyed the town of Brass. The British later established a consulate in Twon-Brass, from where they administered the area. Traditional rulers were reinstalled in the 1920s, but with an essentially symbolic role, which they retain today.

Boat Regatta

With its superb greenery, beautiful forests, canals, rivers and this coastal region is one of the most important areas in Nigeria, in terms of biodiversity, which contributes immensely, to the oxygen supply of the earth. Yet the tourism potential of the region remain unexploited, in spite of the wide variety of customs, traditions, festivals, music, arts, crafts, folklore, artifacts, museums and monuments, which are native to Nembe. The State government, through the Ministry of Information & Culture, and the Bayelsa State Council for Arts & Culture, has adopted strategies to properly harness and develop them into tourist attractions.

There are many tourist attractions in Nembe, which include two museums namely Olodi Museum and Mangrove Museum. They are stocked with artifacts dating back to hundreds of years. An Oil Museum has been proposed by the Federal Government for Oloibiri in Ogbia Local Government Area to commemorate the first striking of oil in commercial quantity in Nigeria in 1956. The museum when established will serve as a center of excellence in petroleum history, entertainment and learning.

At Twon-Brass in Brass Local Government Area, there are the Commonwealth Graves of British soldiers who died in the Nembe-British War of 1895 (otherwise know as the Akassa war). In nearby Akassa, there is the Slaves Transit Camp. There is a War Boat in Aleibiri, which is a tourist wonder, Manila and Bronze heads were discover in a forest in Opume in Ogbia Local Government Area. The beautiful Atlantic Ocean beaches at Twon-Brass, Okpoama, Olodiama, Koluama, Sangana and other at Odi, Kaiama, Nembe and the evergreen expanse of mangrove lands in the deep south of the State are also of great exotic and tourist value.