Many Bonny People Have Igbo Roots

Bonny is a town in the Nigerian Niger Delta. It is known for it’s Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal. But what many don’t know is that many of the indigenes of that town are descendants of Igbos who would have been sold into slavery, had it not been for Olaudah Equiano’s campaign against the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

The enterprising Igbos who settled in Bonny developed a new dialect called Bonny Igbo. In fact, the first bible ever published in Igbo was printed in the Bonny Igbo dialect.

Bonny is also famous for being the place where Jaja of Opobo, an Igbo slave from Amaigbo, in today’s Imo State, first rose to prominence. He later led is followers to form the neighbouring kingdom of Opobo.

One of the most famous Bonny families today is the Jumbo family, which is descended from Oko Jumbo, another enterprising Igboman who was Jaja’s strongest rival in Bonny.