Governor Siminalayi Fubara during the Funeral Service in honour of late King Dandeson Douglas Jaja, at St Paul’s Anglican Church, Opobo
Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State on Saturday advised the children of the late King Dandeson Douglas Jaja, the Amanyanabo of Opobo, to focus on working for their personal success like their father instead of fighting over the inheritance that he left behind thereby putting the family in disarray.
Governor Fubara, who gave the advice in his tribute to the deceased monarch during the funeral church service held at the St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Opobo Town, Rivers State on Saturday, said fighting over inheritance was needless as the fight would only create division in the royal family while the assets would depreciate over time.
“What you inherit are assets. You don’t inherit success. You have to work for your own success. So, if you have that in mind, I don’t think there will be any crisis in the family.
So, I want you to have that as a guide. He’s a peaceful man and he will be very sorrowful whenever he sees his family in disarray, fighting over inheritance. Forget about whatever inheritance or assets that our late King has left behind. With that, peace will automatically be in the family,” he said.
Fubara described the late monarch as a man of class and dignity who had a peaceful and successful reign. According to him, the monarch, who joined his ancestors at the age of 83, led the Opobo Kingdom to great heights.
He noted that outside the legendary King Jaja and the other chiefs that founded Opobo, King Dandeson Douglas Jaja was the only one that had made very significant achievements that has brought the kingdom to limelight. He recalled that during his reign, the Kingdom produced a Deputy Governor and a Governor, adding that his transition must be celebrated.
According to Fubara, “Today, is not a day of mourning. By the special grace of God, our late King attained the most important biological age, according to the Bible, which is 70. And because of his deeds, his gentleness and peacefulness, God added another 13 years to make it 83.
“So, you can understand that for a lot of reasons, he was a successful man. He has done his work. He lived a very peaceful life. Even when we were battling with who becomes the king, who doesn’t become the king, he kept his cool. He was peaceful. I describe him as a man of class and dignity.
“Today, we should celebrate him with peace. We should celebrate him with a sense of fulfilment. We should celebrate him as somebody who has finished his own race, and it is now left for us to continue his story.,” he said.
He charged the Amanyanabo-elect to be prepared to chart a new course for the kingdom through wisdom and pragmatism, instead of trying to conform with the tradition of filling the big shoes left by his predecessor.
In his homily, Bishop of the Diocese of Niger Delta, Dr Emmanuel Oko Jaja reflected on the transient nature of life and enjoined the congregation to avoid pride and primitive acquisition of wealth as all such things would be vanities at the end of life.
The cleric, who took his message from Revelation 21: 1-7, reminded the congregation that ultimate authority rests with God, whom he described as the “water of life” for all who seek Him.
The cleric encouraged mourners to live with an eternal perspective, noting that only those who accept Jesus Christ have the assurance of a new heaven and the promise of everlasting life.