Many years ago, there was a boy named Jaja. He was about eleven years. He lived with his mother and father in a small Igbo village Called “Umuduruoha".
Jaja was very troublesome and naughty. He always got in to trouble because he was always fighting. Jaja's father wasn't happy because his son always got into trouble.
One day, Jaja's father said to his wife, ‘jaja is always fighting with other boys in the village so I'm going to send him away to stay with my brother at Nkwerre. He will make him work hard. Perhaps that will change him into a good boy. ' So they sent Jaja to live with his uncoe and cousins at Nkwerre.
At his uncle's house, Jaja did not change much. He was still troublesome. He tought his cousins to play a game in the bush. He called the game ‘slaves and slave traders'. He would hide in the bush and tell the others to look for him.
Slaves are people who are sold. The people who buy them are their masters. Those who buy and sell slaves are called slave traders.
Everybody was afraid of slave traders in those days. They carried away men, women and children and sold them as slaves. Their families never saw them again. Traders often carried slavesto faraway countries to work for masters on very big farms.
The slave traders came.
One morning, Jaja and his cousins went into the bush to play their game to ‘slaves and slave Traders'. Jaja went far into the bush. As he was busy hiding, some real slave traders came behind him. First, they covered his mouth so that he could not shout. Next, they put a thick cloth into his mouth. Then they tied up his hands and feet, carried him away in a big sack. Jaja was very frightened and his body hurt all over. He was sad and hungry. Later, he was put with other slaves. The slave traders didn't give him any food for some days. Only a little water.....
Jaja was taken to Bonny to be a slave. He was sold so many times to different people. He worked very hard. He tried to run away many times but each time he been cought and beaten. Some of his masters were wicked and some were kind.
When Jaja was twelve years old, he was sold to a Bonny chief. He got Jaja to work for one of his wives.
The chief's wife told jaja that if he was good, the chief would keep him. But Jaja soon got into trouble again, so he was sold again and many more times after that.
Jaja learns a new trade.
As jaja grew older, he began to learn some things. He learned not to be fight so much and he learned to work on the traders' cannoes. One day, he asked his master to allow him to buy and sell goods such as palm oil. His master agreed qnd he began to sell goods to white traders at Bonny Harbour.
The white traders liked Jaja very much because he was very honest and always kept his promises. He wouldn't cheat anybody and he worked very hard. After some years, he bought his own Cannoes.
Jaja became rich and powerful and the people of Anna pepple house asked him to be the head of Anam pepple House. He agreed and continued to work hard and made them rich anf powerful tool.
Jaja continued to work hard and became very rich. Because of this, a man called Oko Jumbo was jealous of him and they became enemies.
The two men fought each other for a long time. Jaja, therefore, left the Bonny and went to another town. He made some new frineds there. The town was called Opubu but white men called it Opobo and it is still call Opobo.
He became king jaja of Opobo. He was happy and also a good ruler.
Many years later, he had some trouble with the British over trade. They took him away on detention to the west indies. He was there for five years and then the British set him free. By that time, he had become old and weak. Jaja died on his was back from the west indies, and was buried in Opobo.
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Content created and supplied by: umarahmaddabai (via Opera News )
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