Beyond the Logo

A logo is a displayed symbol that expresses an organization’s character and/or purpose and therefore makes it easy for customers to recognize and remember the organization. For the Opobo Foundation, USA, these symbols are:

The Manilla Tree
The 14 Stars
The Green Background
The Blue Waters
The Boat

THE MANILA TREE

A Relic of Ancient Glory. An Ensign of the Rich and Free!

The manila tree became the symbol of Opobo as a City State in 1870 and had remained so until today. These cast iron tree-like objects, which came in various sizes and heights, were used to display the ‘manila-money’.
The manila was the currency historically used for buying and selling. They too came in varied sizes with the heavier weights and larger sizes valued higher than their lighter, smaller counterparts.
As with any world economy, the more ‘trees’ you have, the more wealth you can display, and consequently the more respect you garner.
People around the coast and beyond came to know Opobo traders and merchants as wealthy people as they were able to display their wealth on their ‘trees’ for all to see.
This visible sign of wealth displayed all over town made Opobo Kingdom an economic force to reckon with.
Oral history has it that men loved using their manila to buy wrappers and jewelry for their wives. The women used these expensive wrappers for economic bartering when needed. This gave rise to the popular saying in Opobo that ‘a woman’s wealth is in her box!’ To date, an Opobo woman places a lot of value on the contents in her trunk box.

THE MANGROVE

If there are no mangroves, then the sea will have no meaning…. for the mangroves are the roots of the sea!”
–Mad-Ha Ranwasii

The deep green colors of the Mangroves along the creek is always a nostalgic, welcoming and calming sight to all indigenes who travel to Opobo, especially during the alali (festive) periods.
Mangrove trees help stabilize the coastline, reducing erosion from storm surges, currents, waves, and tides.
The intricate root system of mangroves also makes these forests attractive to fish and other organisms seeking food and shelter from predators.
The mangroves provide ample breeding grounds for the bulk of seafoods like periwinkle, oysters and other gastropod shell fish which are used in various exceptional culinary delicacies that Opobians are known for.
The Ibani word for the mangrove tree is NGALA.
‘Ngala’ is the source of firewood for culinary use among Opobo people.
Mangroves! They are indeed roots of the sea!

WATER IS LIFE!

That the sea is one of the most beautiful and magnificent sights in nature, all admit. –John Joly

The Opobo people are proudly ‘salt water people’.
We enjoy relaxing in the blue mingi-aka (water side).
Water is indeed life as it has proven to be source of food, medium of travel, profession and informed our colorful culture and recreational activities.
A lot of Ibani songs have ‘mingi’ in them and the melodies and refrains appear to imitate the lulls of the blue sea waves.
Masquerades highlight the sightings of aquatic and amphibian organism.
Oral history postulates that even the popular systemic shaking of the waist (tuu-seghi) is an imitation of the fast wiggling of fish tails!
The vastness of the beautiful blue waters contribute to it being construed as mystical and has lent itself to numerous fables and mythical ascribing of the Opobians, like all other Ijaw people, as ‘Water People’.

14 Original House Sections

THE 14 STARS OF OPOBO KINGDOM

It was the year 1870, a year after a bitter war among trading rivals in Bonny.
Jubo-Jubogha (Juwo-Juwo to some) who led one of the factions during the war, left Bonny Kingdom and relocated to a new settlement.
He renamed this new settlement, Opubo-Ama now popularly known as Opobo Town
The British who could not (or would not) pronounce his name correctly, renamed him Jaja for their own convenience!
14 of the 18 war canoe houses from Bonny moved to Opobo with their new leader, King Jaja.
These house were Adibie, Biriye, Diepiri, Datu, Dapaye Amakiri, Epelle, Fubarakworo, Iroanya, Jaja, Kalaomuso, Kiepirima, Owujie, Tolofari, Ukonu.
Led by King Jaja, together they formed what is now known as the Opobo Kingdom
The 14 war canoe houses remain the shining beacons of light of Opobo Kingdom
Their courage to move to an unknown land and forge an entirely new kingdom continue to be a story of pride and celebration among their descendants to date.

THE BOAT!

“Water in the boat is the ruin of the boat, but water under the boat is its support” – Jalaluddin Rumi

The boat represents a journey, a crossing, adventure, and exploration.
It also has a reference in literature as the cradle (the mother’s womb) rediscovered (Cooper, 1978).
As in all Ijaw tribe, boats played an important role in the commerce and entrepreneur spirit of the people of Opobo.
It is by boat that merchants came from all over the world. to trade with the people of Opobo Kingdom.
Although generally seen as a risky undertaking by most non-Ijaws, riding in a boat is a communal endeavor that the people of Opobo Kingdom proudly identify with.
Boats are an integral part of sports and relaxation among the Opobo people.
The colorful, annual end-of-year Boat Regatta festival has seen people from all over the world gather as the single most popular boat regatta event in Nigeria, if not West Africa.
The mimicking of the paddling of the boat features in many forms of arts in masquerades and group-choreographed dances.
Indeed, although water will occasionally get into the boat, Opobo people watch that carefully and have mastered the act of swiftly removing the water in the boat.
Opobians know firsthand that water is best UNDER the boat as that is where it gets its support!