The member representing Andoni/Opobo/Nkoro Federal Constituency of Rivers State in the House of Representatives, Hon. Awaji-Inombek Abiante, has applauded the federal government’s move to immortalise King Jaja of Opobo.
Abiante said this when the technical committee for the implementation of the King Jaja of Opobo Cultural and Historical Centre, Opobo, Rivers State, was officially inaugurated by the minister of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, in Abuja on Tuesday.
The lawmaker, who was a lead lobbyist for the project, said it would expose and immortalise the great leader through more profound research, revealing the people’s heritage to the world.
He said, “As a servant of the people, anytime you’re sent to do a job and at a point where there’s success, of course, you should be pleased, you should be elated. That’s exactly how I feel today. This project took us seven years, and when the other people there shared a different vision with us, we were delighted.
“I am glad that a Minister came and bought into the vision. Today, we’re starting the actual journey to making people know exactly what our intentions were, expanding beyond even what we’ve conceived. We are glad.
“It will lead to immortalising the great leader through deeper research, letting the world know who we are, and bonding people together. It will also create jobs. Is it in the area of tourism? A lot. It will open that area up. We expect a lot to be achieved, a lot to gain.”
For her part, the Minister said the project was key to preserving Nigeria’s cultural heritage, adding that it signified a milestone in the collective resolve to take Nigeria’s Art and Culture to enviable heights.
“Today’s event is a testament to our readiness to partner with any State, community, individual or group that desires to immortalise persons of proven capabilities whose immense contributions had helped in shaping and projecting the uniqueness of our cultural values, norms and artefacts as a people,” she said.
The leader of the Rivers State delegation and the paramount ruler of Opobo, His Royal Majesty, King Dandeson Douglas Jaja, Jeki V, commended the federal government for the steps taken to immortalise that great icon.
He said, “This is the time when God decreed that this project would take off because we’ve been agitating for the federal government to do something to immortalise King Jaja of Opobo for all his contributions to the emancipation of the black man and especially the independence of this country. Except that in 1955, a merchant ship was named after King Jaja, but that merchant ship has been decommissioned.
“Since then, the federal government has not done anything to immortalise King Jaja, so this is the first time the federal government is taking steps to do something concrete in his name: build a centre where people will come to read about his contributions to commerce, his contributions to the defence of his kingdom, and his impact on Nigeria’s history.”This is a project we’ve wished for over seven years, and it is a project that we really called the attention of the government to, and luckily, we’ve also seen the concurrence of our state government, prepared for the immortalisation of King Jaja”.
