Chief Nanna Olomu’s tenure as Gofine, (the governor), began 12th July 1884 at a meeting amongst Itsekiri traders with the British consul Hewett present for the proceedings. He was officially given the staff of office by Vice-Consul David Blair the following May 1885. The Vice-Consul stated that he looked to Chief Nanna as ‘ the executive power through which the decrees of the British Government and the Consul were to be implemented.” That Chief Nanna’s relationship with the British was important for his tenure as Gofine.

The position of Gofine predated the shift to legitimate commerce and was an important position in Itsekiri society. Customarily, the appointment of the Gofine was the responsibility of the Olu; but without an Olu because of the interregnum, the appointment of a Gofine and the status of that position transformed.

The governorship rotated within the group of prominent people with royal pedigrees. The Gofine did not have absolute authority; instead he was operating within the context of the establishment of British protectorates in the South. From 1850 to 1875, the Gofine had no standing army. Instead, individual traders fitted their war canoes with cannons supplied by European merchants.  

 Nanna came to power at the moment when the “Scramble for Africa” began in earnest.  The Berlin Conference 1884-5 where European powers divided the African continent among themselves was an important moment when imperialism began in force.

Chief Nanna hoped to have the support of the British in his jurisdiction over the Itsekiri as well as the Urhobos and Ijohs whom he had some imperial control over. Nanna faced many crises as Gofine, including an economic crisis in 1886 when prices for palm oil paid by European raiders had fallen by 40 percent. Many Itsekiri traders wished for the prices to stay constant to stabilise trade with the interior, commercial conditions had become untenable so Chief Nanna blocked all trade in 1886.  This was not an isolated incident but one of many interruptions to the supply of produce across the region, for example the Yoruba closed export markets multiple times.The British Consul in Calabar declared he would be deposed unless he allowed trade to resume, Chief Nanna acquiesced and lost prestige. Inevitably Chief Nanna would not acquiesce to demands made by the British and this would be a pivotal moment in his life that would put him on the international scene. 

Chief Nanna Olomu was a wealthy and powerful trader who inherited great wealth but also wielded it to great effect. He possessed political power through his tenure as Gofine and his trade monopoly. His material wealth was vast, including guns, slaves and canoes. Chief Nanna had a good relationship with the British imperial government, and was admired for his social skills and trade acumen. However, ultimately increasing encroachment by the British following the Berlin Conference 1884-5, a consequence of this was the British influence being solidified in the Bight of Benin through treaties and a declaration of the Niger Delta region being part of British protectorate. combined with political manoeuvres of other Itsekiri chiefs culminated in the Ebrohimi expedition.  

The Ebrohimi expedition was a punitive expedition carried out by the British against Chief Nanna in early August 1894 and in October 1894 the town of Ebrohimi was razed to the ground.

Like his father before him, Chief Nanna founded his own village of Koko when he returned from exile. This act demonstrates the significant degree of influence and power he still wielded despite his absence from the Niger Delta for over a decade. In fact, the village of Koko became so influential that the British would station a colonial administrator there for trade purposes. Historian P.C. Lloyd argues that “it was the aim of every wealthy Itsekiri to found his own village.”One important marker of authority was the founding of a new village. 

In Nigerian historiography, Chief Nanna belongs amongst the names of 19th century indigenous African rulers who resisted European control. Nanna’s historical significance is evident in the secondary literature, to understand the narrative that has formed about him in the Nigerian historiography. Obaro Ikime’s book Merchant Prince of the Niger-Delta: The Rise and Fall of the Last Governor of the Benin River (1968) is the first and only full-length biography of Chief Nanna Olomu.

Extract courtesy of Allegra Otsaye Ayida, historian ww.allegraayida.com