REGAL: Her Royal Highness, Queen Zainab Ibitein Duke-Abiola, the Akasoba of Kalabari.
Who could have imagined that deep in the creeks of the Niger Delta, there is a queen who rules in all her majesty, glory and radiance? A queen so influential that she summons presidents to her court? Welcome to the exquisite world of Queen Zainab Duke-Abiola, mni, the Akasoba of Kalabari, the Nigerian monarch you never heard of.
The Kalabaris are a tribe of the larger Ijaw group found in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta states of Rivers and Bayelsa. Also referred to as the Awome, the Kalabaris have some really wonderful cultural practices and traditions. That is a tale for another day. Today, we focus on their ravishingly beautiful queen. Before I continue, please note that she is not the first queen from the Niger Delta. That position belongs to Queen Kambasa of Bonny, who took over the throne after the death of her father, Amanyanabo (King) Edimini around 1450. Queen Kambasa maintained the Ikuba House of Skulls. Yes, it was actually filled with skulls of captives defeated in battle. A warrior monarch with an impressive military unit, she forced the kingmakers to crown her when she seized the ivory tusk, the symbol of rulership following her father’s demise.
We move on. Queen Akasoba today maintains no house of shiny-white skulls but her influence is in no way diminished.
QUEENS: Her Royal Majesty, the Akasoba of Kalabari and Her Highness, Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned, Queen of Qatar. Duke-Abiola urged Nigerian oil companies to take a clue from Qatari oil laws especially in relation to corporate responsibility.
The Kalabaris are a tribe of the larger Ijaw group found in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta states of Rivers and Bayelsa. Also referred to as the Awome, the Kalabaris have some really wonderful cultural practices and traditions. That is a tale for another day. Today, we focus on their ravishingly beautiful queen. Before I continue, please note that she is not the first queen from the Niger Delta. That position belongs to Queen Kambasa of Bonny, who took over the throne after the death of her father, Amanyanabo (King) Edimini around 1450. Queen Kambasa maintained the Ikuba House of Skulls. Yes, it was actually filled with skulls of captives defeated in battle. A warrior monarch with an impressive military unit, she forced the kingmakers to crown her when she seized the ivory tusk, the symbol of rulership following her father’s demise.
We move on. Queen Akasoba today maintains no house of shiny-white skulls but her influence is in no way diminished.
QUEENS: Her Royal Majesty, the Akasoba of Kalabari and Her Highness, Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned, Queen of Qatar. Duke-Abiola urged Nigerian oil companies to take a clue from Qatari oil laws especially in relation to corporate responsibility.
Yes, she is one of the wives of the late MKO Abiola. On Tuesday, 25th of May, 1999, she called for Abiola in a press conference in Lagos to be honoured posthumously. Actually, she wrote President Jonathan when he changed the name of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) to Moshood Abiola University of Lagos (MAULAG). In her letter, she wrote:
“I wish to personally thank my dear brother, President Goodluck Ebelen-waneya Jonathan GCFR, for the honour accorded my late husband Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola, the winner of the 12 June 1993 Presidential Elections, the freest and fairest elections ever held in Africa, which was annulled by the military junta.”
Well, the Queen has made some really controversial statements. In November 2012, while writing from Argentina, she stated that Barack Obama was a descendant of the Obama (Bakana) Kingdom in Rivers State. In the article she stated that she campaigned for Obama but he did not come to Kalabariland where he was said to have hailed from Obama Kingdom. However, some analysts said her article was actually alluding to the politics in Rivers State at that time.
-She was previously referred to as Chief (Mrs.) Zainab Ibitein Duke Diete-Spiff (the Akasoba of Bakana).
THE INTELLIGENT QUEEN
AMAZONS: Queen Akasoba Duke-Abiola (right) with President of Argentina, Her Excellency, Cristina Fernandez De Kirchner.
“I wish to personally thank my dear brother, President Goodluck Ebelen-waneya Jonathan GCFR, for the honour accorded my late husband Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola, the winner of the 12 June 1993 Presidential Elections, the freest and fairest elections ever held in Africa, which was annulled by the military junta.”
Well, the Queen has made some really controversial statements. In November 2012, while writing from Argentina, she stated that Barack Obama was a descendant of the Obama (Bakana) Kingdom in Rivers State. In the article she stated that she campaigned for Obama but he did not come to Kalabariland where he was said to have hailed from Obama Kingdom. However, some analysts said her article was actually alluding to the politics in Rivers State at that time.
-She was previously referred to as Chief (Mrs.) Zainab Ibitein Duke Diete-Spiff (the Akasoba of Bakana).
THE INTELLIGENT QUEEN
AMAZONS: Queen Akasoba Duke-Abiola (right) with President of Argentina, Her Excellency, Cristina Fernandez De Kirchner.
Many of those who know Queen Akasoba of Kalabari actually know her not for her pretty beads and royal regalia but because of her spectacular writings. Another of her book is MKO Abiola, His Beloved Wife and the Truth About June 12. Some of her well-known books are “Concupiscence” and “The Colour Black, Philosophy of Life”. The renowned writer, Elechi Amadi wrote the foreword to some of her books.
Former Nigerian Chief of Defence Staff, General Domkat Bali (rtd) said of her:
“Queen Akasoba has began her quiet march towards becoming a literary colossus. I have found reading these verses quite scintillating.”
“The Revolutionary Potentials of the Nigerian Military” is one of her best-selling books.
THE QUEEN TODAY
A laywer, political scientist and traditionalist, the Akasoba of Kalabari, Her Royal Highness Akasoba Duke-Abiola is the Chairperson of the Akasoba Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution (ACPCR). In November 2013, the ACPCR awarded Ban Ki-moon and South African President Jacob Zuma the Global Peace Award 2013 at the UN General Assembly in New York. Through this body, she has silently but efficiently been working tirelessly to ensure that peace reigns. She has travelled to South Sudan where she met President Salva Kiir and pressed her message of peace and unity. She told President Kiir that Africa cannot develop in the absence of peace and harmony. In South Sudan, she stressed:
“We are for whatsoever would bring peace to Nigeria, Sudan, Africa and the world. That is why we utterly condemn the deplorable situation in South Sudan where women and children are suffering intolerable hardships.”
And in case you do not know, she inscribed the name that formed Bayelsa State. Hear her:
“Some of us battled tooth and nail to attain the creation of Bayelsa State. The name Bayelsa is indeed an acronym of the socio-political delineation of its local government areas, inscribed by me.”
In July 2013, she invited President Goodluck Jonathan, Governor Rotimi Amaechi, former Head of State Yakubu Gowon, former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda, former UN Secretary-General Boutros-Boutros Ghali and a number of Nigerian traditional rulers to ACPCR Centre, Kula, Ekulama, Rivers State for talks on how to solve the Rivers State crisis and ensure overall peace in Nigeria. At the moment, she is also one of those at the forefront for the creation of a Kalabari State. She also constantly calls out on the politicians to place the interests of the people at heart.
Acknowledgement: Naija Archives, TUN Extra
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