A CONCISE HISTORY OF KING AMAKIRI (AMACHREE 1)
As supplied by the erudite Kalabari
Historian,
* Mr. Daboikiabo Jack ©
Edited by: Pastor D.Braide
It is a common thing
to keep the beginning and the ending of heroes shrouded in mystery and myth. But objective history and historians go after
facts and figures which are accurate or very close to accurate. If there was one person whose account of his beginning has
been so distorted, it was King Amakiri (AmachreeI) the legendary Kalabari king who, by all standards, has
been the greatest King the Kalabaris have ever had. A little digression. Those of us of the Christian faith will find from
the Holy Scripture that the Bible does not gloss over the humble beginnings and the faults of its heroes. For example:
(i) When King David
took another man's wife after killing him, it wrote so (2
Sam. 12:9,10);
(ii) That Jephthah,
who became a mighty man of valour and judged Isreal in the capacity of a king for six years, was the son of a harlot, was
not hid from us (Judges 11 : 1 - 10);
(iii) that Daniel,
the most educated prophet and statesman in the Old Testament, died unmarried and childless because he was castrated by the
reigning King then, was also penned down (Daniel 1 : 3 - 6, mark the word eunuch in vs.3);
(iv) Even the greatest
apostle the Bible ever recorded for us was not spared of the revelation of his uncured infirmities (2 Corinthians 12 : 7 -
9)
Having a humble beginning
cannot preclude the possibility of ascendancy unto greatness, power and wealth in one's later life. Such was the case of the
legendary King Amakiri. Amakiri as a boy, was brought to Elem Kalabari during the reign of King Daba ( alias
Igbo-ye Owibo ). King Daba was a trader in permkernel and oil and he had a trade depot in Opukolo in Ogbia region.
During the course of his trading, he became friendly to one Ikpariba of Amakalekale of Ogbia, the father of young Amakiri.
A crisis erupted in Ogbia that led to the death of Ikpariba, leaving young Amakiri. King Daba, because of his
friendship with late Ikpariba, took Amakiri and brought him to Elem Kalabari. He gave him over to his wife Queen Okuma to
bring him up as she would her own child. It was King Daba that gave him the name, Jen amakiri bobo
( meaning, "he who came from another land") shortened
to Amakiri. In the course of time, King Daba died and his son Kala I gbea (meaning, a small place in life does not befit me) shortened to Kalagbea became the 13th ancient King of Kalabari. Sometime in the course of his stay in Elem Kalabari,
Amakiri was afflicted with yaws (pirimaobi in kalabari). He was taken to Ke for treatment and placed under the
custody of one Omoni. After he became cured, he decided to make Ke his base shuttling between there and Elem Kalabari.
Amakiri became, at that time, a wealthy fisher primarily of mudskippers (isila). King Kalagbea
also died and from the list above, it is seen that Amakiri (corrupted as Amachree) succeeded him. How did this happen? ...to be continued
