01/04/2025
Most writers from Bille place the founding of
Bille in about the 9th century on the basis
of tradition and linguistic research of other
sister clans like Bonny. Others are more
inclined to accept a date prior to the
fourteenth century for which one can reliably
adopt the 9th century as the authentic
period when the actual movement from the
Benin Empire began.
Queen Ikpakiaba founded ancient Bille many
centuries ago with several colleagues who
fled their original settlement because of an
internal conflict amongst the inhabitants.
The people of Bille were said to have
emigrated from the old Benin Empire. It is
difficult to ascertain the accurate date
from Oral tradition even as dates cannot be
easily proven because of the difficulty in
arriving at accurate data due to the level of
knowledge about the calendar in those days.
Nonetheless, one will not equally be wrong to
assert that a thriving and long established
Bille community existed with its kings by the
15th century as recorded by early writers.
According to Pacheco Pereira in the
Esmeraldo de Situ Orbis (1505–1520), the
Ijo people of Bille were already trading on
slaves . [4] Thus if by 1520 someone from
Europe had written about a Bille community
which was in slave trade, then one can
conveniently proclaim that our Bille may have
been established long ago before being
strong enough to partake in such a serious
and dangerous trade.
In addition, Jones (1963) refers to a raid in
neighbouring Kalabari towns of slaves by Bille
under King Agbaniye Jike. He equally referred
to a Bonny tradition concerning the
development of the slave trade under King
Asimini, and the development of the Kalabari
slave trade under the contemporary King
Owerri Daba (Owereya Dappa). See Alagoa &
Fombo 1972. [5]
According to Smith, Robinson & K. Williamson
in the ‘Ijo Elements in Berbice Dutch’, Owerri
Daba is to be dated to roughly 1600. [6] As
indicated by Jones (1963), tradition assigns
Agbaniye Jike of Bille to the same generation
as Owerri Daba. On the basis of the above
reference to Agbaniye Jike as a 17th-
century warlord, we can draw inferences to
the time of settlement of the first Bille
people by adopting the age of Jike who is
locally regarded as a 3rd generation Bille
man. Jike was born to an already established
kingdom with several past rulers before him.
In fact, he belongs to the Opu Sira
community and from the local permutations,
he may have become great after several
years under the tutelage of some great
fighters even though he was said to have
given signs of greatness at his birth.
We will therefore rely on the dates given by
the early writers and put pressure on
archaeologists to determine the possible
period of the first settlement at Bille which
will not only be acceptable to historians but
will also agree with several artefacts in the
community. In the meantime, we may have to
rely only on the dates quoted by early local
writers and the official position of Bille
spokespersons at Tribunals and other public
hearings.
We were told that they left the old Benin
Empire and moved southwards to the Niger
Delta region and first settled around the
Tarakiri clan in Central Ijaw before finally
settling at a place called Okolo Bille in the
present Abua territory situated on the
north of Degema on the bank of the
Sombrero River. It was at this point that a
severe dispute occurred amongst the
inhabitants. Oral Tradition relates it to a
dispute over the sharing of the head of a
special fish called tilapia (atabila) by the
rulers during a festival. This resulted into a
civil war that caused most of them to
emigrate to the south where they founded
various towns and settlements.
Origin of Bille
According to Oral tradition, when Queen
Ikpakiaba the Amabinbo of Bille and her peers
left Okolo Bille they first drove past an
empty piece of land, which at that time was
called Ogonobe Ingbetokuru. This is the
present day Obuama in the Degema local
Government Area. On the same route, they
also sighted and passed a big forest (the
present site of the Degema consulate) then
known as Sukube Ingbetokuru. We are not so
sure if there were people already settled at
these settlements (they were regarded as
barren lands not inhabited by people) as no
mention was made of people they had met
during their movements. Had they found any
one then, the Bille people would have
eliminated them on their route to the south
of the area.
They later crossed the sea, passed by
another big forest (present day Abonnema
but then known as Mene), sailed downwards
along the Sombrero River up to the entrance
of the tributary called Oruama kubu, and
sailed thereon. They later stopped at a small
forest called Ikpabiraba Daba and stayed
there for some days. The barren land is still
there till today.
Considering that the place was too small and
quite isolated, they left there and moved
further along the route until they came to
the Besi kubu creek through which they
reached the present Bille town. It was then
an island divided into two parts by a small
channel with openings at two ends (the Opu
Osia polo through the Opu Asa/Opu Okira
axis). The channel - kroro - is no longer
dividing the town into two having been closed
for over a century but there are marks of
such a channel at the centre of the town and
can be traced at the specific places where it
transverse.
They entered the channel through the Opu
Osia polo axis and moved into the centre of
the town where they stopped to observe
that some strange creatures were playing
masquerades. These creatures later dived
into a huge tunnel close to the centre of the
town and disappeared. The creatures were
later identified as water spirits, owama be
apu. This puzzled Queen Ikpakiaba and peers
so they left to disclose their new discovery
to their people.
When they came the next time, they also saw
the mermaids performing their rituals. They
later disappeared into the well as they had
earlier described to their people. The Bille
people found out much later that the tunnel
at the centre of the town was actually an
under ground channel that ran from the
centre of the town to the mouth of the Opu
Bille kubu creek along the Sombrero River
several kilometres from the town. This was
confirmed by the appearance of persons who
surfaced at the said place several days
after they were drowned in the tunnel at the
centre of Bille. That spot is where the
present Bolo tree stands at the centre of
the town.
On one of the occasional appearances of the
mermaids, the early people of Bille
negotiated with them to allow them (Bille
people) to stay for seven years before they
leave to settle elsewhere and they were
permitted. Meanwhile, during this period the
mermaids occasionally came out of the tunnel
to display as they had done on that first
day when the Queen first saw them.
When it was time for the Bille people to leave
as earlier agreed, they kept on postponing
their departure until the mermaids were
tired of driving them. They had to leave the
Bille people to stay there permanently. The
mermaids then gradually reduced their
periodic appearances for their regular
masquerade displays until they finally
stopped coming although they later came in
the form of human beings as could be
confirmed by the 'carrying' (or possession)
of mermaid spirits by some women and the
physical appearance of certain persons in the
town. The queen and her colleagues were said
to have made sacrifices to drive away the
creatures before finally settling on the land.
The Bille people copied these displays and
performed them regularly and these have
become the bedrock of Bille's traditional
heritage and a prominent feature of the Bille
culture and tradition. The agiri festival has
its origin from this discovery. It has,
however, undergone numerous changes and
innovations with time. The existence of such
mermaids turned humans was confirmed by
one of them - late Sibisonio Feniobu - who
freely educated natives on their mode of
operations when requested. He had named
many of his peers who had come from their
‘water’ world because of the agiri festival.
Unfortunately, most of them have died
before the publication of this book.
Queen Ikpakiaba and her adherents thus
settled on the land thereby ignoring the
more spacious alternatives at the barren
lands of the present day Obuama, Degema,
and Abonnema, which she had seen but
passed while on her route to Bille. She was
indeed divinely led to the present land of
Bille.
Emigration
Opu Ogulaya and Opu Suma also emigrated
from Akpata Bille and settled on a land now
known as Ogoloma. After their settlement,
Opu Otubeya, their kinsman, also settled on
the other side of the same land. When at a
later date both of them met in the bush
they identified themselves as persons from
the same root and thus proclaimed 'wakiri ke'
meaning 'we are not different'. Thus, the
place is known even until today as Wakirike
although it has been anglicised to the word
Okrika.
Some of those who also fled from the old
settlement of the Bille people included Opu
Okurukuru who founded the present day
Kugbo while Opu Ikiya found Ikiakiama. Opu
Ogini also left and settled on the land now
called Oginiama while Opu Krobo also
emigrated and settled on a land which is the
present day Nkoro town in the Andonni Local
Government Area. It has been confirmed that
the people of Nkoro regard the eating of the
tilapia fish as a taboo because of the
historical significance.
Only recently, the people of Bille have
discovered that there is also another place
called Bille in northern Nigeria. On a maiden
visit to the newfound land of Bille in
Adamawa State of Nigeria between March 3
and 8, 2004, the Bille delegation comprising
Chief O. G S. Digbani, Chief D. W. Herbert, Mr
Ibim Watson Sanipe (representing the CDC),
Ibinabo Thompson (representing the Bille
Youths Federation) and Rev. Dr F. J. Igani
was told that their forefathers actually
travelled far north to settle at their
present settlement and have over time
become engulfed by the overbearing Hausa
community. They claimed that their
ancestors also migrated from a certain place
called Bille because of a dispute over fish in
the past but they were not sure of the
original place they left. Incidentally, they
have the same local names for such items as
fish and water. The people also have the
same names for the numbers as we have here
in Bille.
According to recorded history, Bille was the
sole power in the old Degema Division sharing
boundaries then with other eastern Ijaw
clans like Nembe, Bonny, and Okrika with
whom she fought several wars. So great was
her one time ruler, Agbani ye Jike, that the
entire territory was under his influence
although he conquered settlements without
settling anybody for security reasons. It
was the policy of the ancient people of Bille
during Jike's era to eliminate all persons in
the conquered territories and settlements
leaving a barren land, which, unfortunately,
had left Bille as a one-city kingdom. Gladly,
life has begun in most of the other
settlements especially at Jikeama, Touma
etc. as we look forward to an ideal Bille
kingdom.
Other towns that also claim an early
existence including Ke, Idama and Kula were
founded according to Oral Tradition by
persons of Bille origin some of whom rebelled
against the king and emigrated there and by
Bille people dropped on such lands because of
their abominable ailment. Kula was
established by Opu Ada ye Sira of Sira
Community in Bille. Agbaniye Kio, a brother of
King Jike also left Bille when he had a dispute
with his brother and settled on the land
that is now known as Idama. In the Captain
Kelsey Report of 1935, the claim of Bille over
the town of Ke was recorded although
because of the time lapse the Ke people now
deny this claim, as the Bille people did not
exercise authority over it for the obvious
reasons that they were actually a neglected
people cast out of Bille and were thus not
prone to attacks from Bille or other
aggressors.
They were all regarded as sister settlements
and were thus never attacked by the Bille
people. They were semi-autonomous in the
period until in the later part of the last
century when they sought and got the
protection of the Kalabari king thus becoming
a part of the Kalabari kingdom. This was a
period of trading and European influence
predating the colonial era when inter-tribal
wars were on the decline and kings were not
renowned for conquering territories but for
their resistance against the European
powers.
Relationship with other clans
Several reasons have been adduced to explain
why it was not possible for the people of
Bille to move out of the present location to
found new lands like her sister kingdoms. The
chief reason is security, as the numerous
wars and attacks from aggressors
prevented persons from moving to settle on
isolated islands and locations where they
would be prone to severe attacks. [7] They
were only content with going out on fishing
expeditions and coming back safe to Bille.
Being a warring era, it was safer to stay in
the hinterland where Bille town is situated
as it took enemies much difficulty to drive
through the creeks before reaching the town.
In fact, before anybody could attempt such
an attack on Bille he would have been
subdued on his way by the ever-ready
warriors who patrolled the creeks on a
regular basis.
In addition, the ancient Bille people never
trusted strangers as to settle natives
amongst them on such conquered
settlements for fear of uprisings and
further enemy attacks. Therefore, Bille
remained a safe haven for the great warriors
of Bille in the Niger Delta region from the
reign of King Agbani ye Jike until the advent
of colonialism. To this day, because of his
prowess and his sustenance of the Bille
Empire in that period, the title of the
Amanyanabo (king) of Bille is named after
him.
One can also add that the near perfect living
style of the Bille people whereby the
extended family system allowed members of
one family to share a single building equally
contributed to the inability of people to
move and settle elsewhere. In Bille, it is still
possible for two brothers to share one
building inherited from their father and both
would always live together happily without
molestation. This is absent in so many other
communities as elder brothers have been
reported to have chased away their younger
ones and other relations from their inherited
homes. This ordinarily would push one to seek
elsewhere to find accommodation and had, in
most cases, led people to develop barren
lands to settle.
However, the most appropriate reason why
the other clans have a relatively superior
numerical strength is the large number of
slaves bought and allowed to be members of
those clans. In those days, noble men in
places like Bonny and Kalabari were
recognised by the number of slaves they
kept. The slaves were later given freedom
and made to belong to the families of their
masters hence the growth in population of
these clans. This much was confirmed by
Ebiegberi J. Alagoa and Adadonye Fombo in
their book, “A Chronicle of Grand Bonny”,
Ibadan University Press, published in 1972.
Quoting Robin Horton’s “From Fishing Village
to City-state”, the authors believed that
‘whereas Elem Kalabari insisted on the
complete acculturation of slaves to be
integrated into the House System, Bonny
does not seem to have full acculturation.
Thus, although both states took part in the
slave trade and absorbed large numbers of
Ibo slaves into their communities, the
Kalabari have preserved their language and
culture, while Bonny has become bilingual in
Ibo and Ibani. Thus, although the system of
integration into the lineage or House System
worked faultlessly in Bonny, the same policy
was not pursued in the cultural field.’
Much of this though had to do with early
exposure to persons from other tribes
particularly the Europeans. Therefore, it was
easy for noble men and chiefs from the
neighbouring places to purchase slaves and
give them freedom so that they help them in
their new hinterland trade with the whites
after slave trade was abolished. This was
not the case in Bille even as intermarriage
was relatively less between the Bille people
and other clans. As a result, a proper census
of the true natives in all the clans under
reference will reveal that Bille has more
genuine natives than all the other clans
where people of mixed blood abound.
The need to expand the Bille Kingdom beyond
the one-city status had in the past ten
years invigorated the clamour for the
development and transformation of the
fishing settlements to the status of
villages. This had resulted in the request for
and approval of many such villages by the
Bille Council of Chiefs. These new villages have
also been recommended to the management
of the SPDC for the purpose of establishing
Community Development Committees and for
membership of the Bille Youth Federation.
Settlement of Kalabari
Originally settled at Elem Kalabari by the
Bille people when they came from Duke Town
in the present Akwa Ibom state, the Kalabari
people have moved totally from there to
found great cities, towns and villages with
Buguma as the seat of their king. The old
single towns have greatly evolved to become
clans. Oral tradition and recorded history
has it that one Mfon Manuel and a group of
his people left Duke’s Town and sailed down
to Bonny where they met the king of Bonny.
On hearing that they had fled from their
former domain and are in search of a new
settlement the Bonny monarch took them to
his brother king at Bille and requested him
to give him a portion of his vast territory
for his guests. His exact words as recorded
for posterity were, “kele pa imbari” literally
meaning, ‘please, give them some land’ to
settle. It is this initial expression that the
Bille people later used in identifying their
Duke Town strangers that had
metamorphosed, over time, to become the
name ‘kalabari’.
This is the authentic history of the Kalabaris
and any other version given and which does
not tally with the Bille position is a fallacy
because the people of Kalabari had referred
all cases concerning the correct version of
their history to the Bille people even in the
early thirties. According to palace sources in
Bille, made available to the Press team
during the drafting of the memorandum
submitted to the State Commission on the
Kalabari / Bille Conflict, there are records of
visits to Bille by some Kalabari chiefs to
request the people of Bille to speak the
truth concerning the rightful owners of the
kingship of the Kalabari kingdom. Their visits
were recorded in a minute-book kept by the
Bille king for visitors. As a rule, the
Secretary of the Council of Chiefs, usually a
non-chief who was however literate, wrote
the minutes for the chiefs in those days.
In one of the minutes of such meetings
between the Kalabari visitors and the chiefs
of Bille recorded on April 28, 1933 and
written by the Secretary, late Mr A. O. Sibi
(he later became a chief), a group of chiefs
and people of Kalabari namely Chiefs Samuel
Berriboyle, Ebenezer Don Pedro, Messrs. Obu
Berriboyle, Tom Braide and Johnbull Yellowe
came from Abonnema as representatives of
the KALAGBEA House to inform the
Amanyanabo and the chiefs of Bille about the
dispute between the Kalagbea House and the
Amachree House in Kalabari.
The Bille people present were Amanyanabo
Igolima Dappa, Chiefs Abel Uriah, Efrenbo
Nangi, Irionu, Joel Siala, Bruce Mgbe, Charles
Sibi, Edward Bibi, Walter Bibi, Isaiah, etc.
Chief Ebenezer Don Pedro was the spokesman
of the visiting Kalabari team. He explained to
the Bille chiefs that they had come to inform
them that the Kalabari nation had been split
into two over the claim to the throne and
kingship. He disclosed that the Amachree
House had claimed to be the “supreme owners
of the Kalabari land and that Amachree was
the owner of the land as he was the first of
all the kings”. He went on to state the
position of the Kalagbea House who insist
that there had been others who ruled the
nation (Kalabari) in succession before the
advent of Amachree. According to the
Kalagbea House, Amachree was a slave and
there were about 14 to 15 kings before his
arrival.
Their aim of coming to Bille, he further
stated, was to inform the Bille people that
they (the Kalagbea House) had told the
District Officer (D.O.) that “there had been
a people – Bille – who are the original owners
of all this part – Delta Section – and that
they are the only people in this part when
they (the Kalabari people) came. And that
these said people can identify the way and
manner late Amachree came to the Kalabari
land, and of the fact of the suzerainty of
the predecessors who ruled the nation.”
“That they should be consulted as to the
fact of this. Besides the Bille, Bonny and
Brass could corroborate too, but the Bille
people are core of the facts” (sic).
He then disclosed that the D. O. had
promised to come and interview the Bille
people, and so they had come to intimate the
chiefs of Bille of such an intended visit by
the D. O. As recorded by Mr Sibi (as he was
then), the chiefs through late Bruce Mgbe
thanked them for the visit and the kind
sentiments expressed in owning up that the
Bille people are the original owners or
settlers of all these parts. He promised
that the Bille people were ready to explain
the truth to the D. O. whenever he comes.
On April 6, 1935, the Kalagbea House
members came again to Bille to remind the
Bille of their last visit. Only two persons
came. They were Chief Stanley Don Pedro and
Michael Romeo Georgewill both of Abonnema.
At that time, the Secretary was late Mr
(later Rev.) W. B. Herbert. They were
received by King Igolima Dappa, Chief Isaiah
Osinbo, Chief Abel Uriah, and Chief Joel Siala.
Others were Messrs. Ebenezer Kari, Joseph
Williams, Olu Jacob and Gilbert Bibi.
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