Talk:Bille tribe

BILLE AS SEEN BY A STRANGER - KEVIN NENGIA (Added by Rev. Mac Inoma Diri)

BILLE KINGDOM AND THE QUEST TO FIND ALTERNATIVE ECONOMY By Kevin Nengia For the past one year I have become a friend of Bille Kingdom in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State. I have travelled to the community twice and have witnessed some of its rich cultural displays, the hospitality of the indigenes, the irresistible riverine dishes,its beautiful women and even its diasporic heritage - Bille has links as far upland to the plateaus in Admamawa, Plateau, and Nasarawa states. I learnt there is a village in Adamawa that is called Bille some its inhabitants equally bears surnames found in Bille, such as Kemuel. If you ask me how they migrated, I’am actually lost, but strangely they still communicate through visits and meetings. Among the riverine Ijaw communities in Rivers State, Bille community stands out. Not because of any unique endowment, after all, almost all the coastal communities in the state is endowed with oil resource. What strikes one about the ancient community is their unity of purpose and single mindedness. And this attitude is understandable. A man does not allow his neighbour to swallow him, especially if the man steps on his right and albeit knows that he is as strong as the impostor. That is why over the years Bille has stood its ground as one of the oldest coastal clans like Bonny, Okrika and Nembe from its founding by Queen Ikpakiaba and her peers in the 9th century. It therefore cannot be swallowed by its bigger but younger Ijaw riverine neighbours. It protects its dialect, culture and land with jealousy. Despite its status in the coastal communities, the kingdom has suffered hugely from deprivation meted on it from its bigger neighbours. For instance, the kingdom has suffered from political strangulation since from the early 80s. During the 1979 constituency delimitation Bille had 30 polling units but presently that has been reduced to nine. Its traditional ruler (Amayanabo) has remained a third class since the Eastern Region House of Chiefs ceased to exist. But that is not all that Bille has suffered over the years. It has two oil fields, 23 oil wells, and so is a major contributor to national wealth nonetheless and unfortunately the community is threatened by coastal erosion eating its shores upto five metres yearly. There is no potable drinking water in Bille, the only one provided by oil firms is not well treated. Therefore it was not strange that the community was struck by cholera in 2010. Many promising lives were lost to the pandemic. Bille has no roads, except the windy pathway that leads to the town square. Bille landmass is shrinking daily with coastal erosion and because there is no shore protection, the small portion- about (10 hectares) reclaimed by Shell in the late 80s have been washed away. The entire creeks of the kingdom oozes with crude oil spilt from the oil wells and the fishermen are counting loses not only of their livelihood, even their lives as well. This grim picture is what compelled Bille Community in Abuja to organize a one day talkshop tagged, “Bille Beyond Oil-Strategies for Present and Future Economic Development” at Rachael’s Hotel in Port Harcourt recently. The chairman of the occasion, Elder Boma Vincent Benebo captured the situation plainly, “in the next 20 years Bille will have up to 1 million people if the current growth rate of 20 percent of the over 50,000 inhabitants is sustained.” Then he asked a question, “How do we get the system working so we can sleep?” This question sparked reactions from the filled hall. Engr. Dawari Boisa had some ready answers when he opined that, “we need to affirm our status in the Eastern Niger Delta”. So how does that happen? Barrister Iyalla Igani is of the view that, “as a player in the oil business in the country, it is necessary that we in Bille should take stock of ourselves and plan for the future.” For Chairman of Bille Kingdom Development Committee (BKDC), Asatubo Igbanibo Kemuel, “ there is the need for oil companies operating within the area to adequately carry out Human Capital and Infrastructural Development initiatives by way of corporate social responsibility.” But the opinion that struck me the most was the one made byElder Benebo Boma when he suggested the need for to establish a small cottage industry for fishing. A fish trawling company. He added that a transport company should also be established. That to me is what Bille needs. The community needs to think out of the box if it must survive the future. The huge human resource of Bille is not fully tapped from the view of Mr. Harvest Olu. who unveiled a book “ WHO’S WHO IN BILLE”. Mr Olu a public relations practitioner chronicled the lives of about 100 persons that have shaped Bille in the past 50 years. According to him, it’s unfortunate that despite this huge endowment, the community is yet to produce a Commissioner, a governor even a local government chairman. He therefore called on the State Government to always include Bille in its appointments and governance as it has lots of both natural and human resource. Kevin Nengia's photo. Kevin Nengia's photo. Kevin Nengia's photo. Kevin Nengia's photo. LikeShow More ReactionsComment 21 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mac22dee (talk • contribs) 13:58, 30 April 2016 (UTC)