The Nembe people are a Niger Delta Ijaw people, settled in the region which now includes the Edumanom Forest Reserve.
The founding date of the ancient Kingdom of Nembe is uncertain. Tradition says Ogio was appointed the tenth king, reigning around 1639, the father of all succeeding rulers. Later on, a civil war fractured the city into two factions. King Ogbodo and his adherents relocated to a new settlement at Bassimibiri at the beginning of the 19th century, while King Mingi remained in the city of Nembe.
Ogidiga, the Nembe People’s supreme deity, was said to be a self-made deity of later times, merely to mimic the other coastal towns that had something recognizable as their national gods just like the Bonny people had the Iguana as their national god.
The Arochukwu Oracle was consulted as to what they desired to idolize as their national deity, as a result of that consultation, the shorter python species was selected for them. However, it turned out that this was not the true Python snake, but another type called Ekekoru, “The Rat Waiter”. Just as the name implies Ekekoru eats nothing but rats and it was said to be the first form of Deity the people of Nembe truly knew. Shortly after, the introduction of the Python or snake that destroys creatures such as fowls, goats, and human beings, etc. became more popular and known amongst the people of Nembe. The Python symbolizes Ogidiga and the deity became more worshiped and venerated than the Ekekoru.
In pre-colonial days, any individual who had happened to destroy this symbolic reptile unintentionally was proclaimed to surely not escape death unless he or she came from an important or affluent family. This family had to be rich enough to compensate for the wrongdoing with a person’s price equivalent to seven plates and other required expenses.
Ogidiga, as it is known, is said to be a warrior who came to this world from the land of the spirits to make war; thus it is claimed that the Nembe people are warlike and most dominant among the region’s tribes. Without proper consulting of the principal juju priest, no war was to be waged; and no prisoner of war was beheaded, without his knowledge to appease the deity. Because of this, it is believed that Ogidiga is a god of war that heavily influences warfare.
History recorded that it was during the reign of King Forday Kulo and Jacket Mein that the latter national god, became a national deity. Previously it was claimed that the way of seeking information from the national god was by the “Ebebege” – the inquiring bamboo ladder. It was claimed to be tied to two poles with two lkage [tortoise] – costly Kano garments.
According to its discretion, it moves backward or forward, as a means to communicate affirmative or negative answers. However, during the reign of these two competing kings, King Jacket Mein and King Forday Kulothey, they both sent messengers to the oracle of Arochukwu, to ask why their national deity never communicated to them through a human being. Arochukwu’s oracle commanded the ambassadors to go back home and notify their rulers to repeat their request three times in a row, and to send out a reasonable amount of offerings each time.
The two rulers did as they were told, and the oracle sent out the representatives on the third occasion to notify them that their request will now be granted to them, and they must not weep or lament if anybody got missing. Upon their return a man went missing, they looked for him everywhere, but he could not be found; thus they resorted to their previous way of inquiring through their juju. The message they got assured them that they did not need to be bothered, as their constant request and wish was to be granted, and that they would see him at the end of three kakas, [Kaka is a week of four days].
According to the juju’s predictions, at the completion of the aforementioned three kakas, the form of a human being emerged from the river just below Okipiri; after a while, it dived and reappeared between the midstream of Ogbolomabiri and Bassambiri, dived backward again, and reappeared the third time abreast of Oboloamabiri; dived again, and emerged at Ogilolo Creek, the clay. When he started speaking to them in the language of the juju, there was immense happiness and enjoyment in the city for many days.
Ogidiga was said to be more powerful than the other gods, because of the iconic Ada Sword. Ogidiga became so influential and powerful that the other surrounding gods became subjugated. These gods earned acknowledgment as Ogidiga’s “sons, daughters, and even wives.” Under Nembe’s Ogidiga, the subjugation of these gods allowed the city-state to extend and annex the outlying areas without much bloodshed. For instance, the connection between Nembe and Okpoama was sealed when Okpoama “accepted” that Kalaorowei the village god was the son of Ogidiga.
This went on to further establish that Ogidiga was the city of Nembe and the Kingdom’s national deity. In both language and culture, the affinity was now seen as “Ogidiga’s child.” Ogidifariye, Orukolo’s rock deity also became Ogidiga’s “son,” and so forth. Whatever message Ogidiga passed across was the final say and not even the king could oppose the deity.
Furthermore, Ogidiga is swift in delivering punishments to offenders. The deity did not hold back on transgressors and there is no such thing as little transgressions to the deity. The only way to escape the wrath of Ogidiga is to offer ample offerings and supplications to the deity.
The god has been deeply immersed in the culture of The Nembe people that they still carry out what is deemed their ultimate penalty to blasphemous transgressors by beheading. An example is the recent case of Christian locals of Nembe that refused to participate in the Eyalkai festival and the worship of Ogidiga. This infuriated the elders and priests that they went on to dish out their ultimate penalties to these Christians. Unfortunately for them, the modern law couldn’t help them and it became a case of a mouse chasing a cat.
The Chief Priest (with his vast influence) made it impossible for the case to see the light of the day in court and made a decree that the ‘’white man’s law’ doesn’t apply to them or their gods and as such, the Christians involved had to take to their heels fearing that their lives might be in danger.
It is said that some left the town of Nembe and those who stayed are being tormented spiritually and are mocked daily that their ‘’God’’ can’t save them neither can the law of the land, that they are subject to the god Ogidiga because, before the ‘white man’s religion’ came into their land, their god was already in existence and everyone in that town must pay reverence to the god or face the wrath of the chief priest and his counterparts.
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