Born Mbanaso Okwaraozurumba from Imo state ..
He arrived in the Kingdom of Bonny in 1833, the year the Slavery Abolition Act was passed by the British Parliament, as a child with no weight in substance, and in the space of thirty-seven years; he rose through the ranks by sheer force of personality to become a clan sub-chief, Head chief of a trading House (Opubo Annie Pepple House), and King of Opobo.
Jaja founded the Kingdom of Opobo after he retreated with members of his clan into Andony territory after Bonny civil war in 1869. King Jaja was a middleman broker of palm oil (the “Legitimate trade” that replaced the slave trade in the region) and he controlled the important trade routes from 1870 until the mid-1880s. Jaja’s troubles with British traders began in the early 1880s when George Watts, opened his factory in Kwa Ibo (an enclave within Jaja jurisdiction, which was situated along the route leading to the palm oil fairs in the hinterland). As a result, King Jaja led the first punitive expedition to the region on 11 April 1881 and that was followed by a second expedition, on the night of 16 May 1881. Following both expeditions, the disagreements between Jaja and the British Consular Authority worsened.
Another contentious issue arose when Consul Hewett met with King Jaja to discuss the Protectorate Treaty. The consul met fierce opposition from Jaja -and his chiefs- over a clause that called for free trade and freedom of movement for the British traders. (The Protectorate treaty was the forerunner of the Berlin Conference and it was designed to guarantee British traders access to the hinterland). However, King Jaja signed the treaty after the disputed clause was removed, and Consul Hewett had given him assurance in writing to state that ‘Queen Victoria did not want to take his country or markets’. On 5 June 1885, King Jaja ordered his armed men -in a show of force- to place booms across Opobo River to block the route leading to the interior when the British traders attempted to enforce the treaty..