By Onyeche Igwe
The presentation of the Book: “Rebisi Natives of Port Harcourt: History and Development” which took place at Oroworukwo town hall, Port Harcourt, under the chairmanship of Prof. Sonny N. Amadi was a successful one. The book was reviewed by Eze Chris Akani and presented by Hon. Ken. Chikere. HRM Eze Isaiah Eliuku, the Paramount Ruler of Port Harcourt was the Royal Father of the Day.
Present at the Book Presentation were: Eze Barr. Ken Chikere, former Member of House of Representatives and former Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Eze Charles Wami, Hon. Ezebunwo Ichemati, the Chairman of Port Harcourt City Local Government Council and the Mayor of Port Harcourt, HRM (Barr.) Isaiah U. Eliuku, JP, DSSRS, Prof. Emenike Nyeche Wami, Prof. Otonti Nduka, Dr. Sam Kalagbor, Prof. Chris Ogbonda, Prof. Sunny Amadi, Prof. Chris Akani, Prof. Levi Kalagbor, Sir Chima Ubechu and other dignitaries of Rebisi and Ikwerre extraction.
This book is a local history of the Rebisi natives of Port Harcourt from the eighteenth century; revealing their common origin and cultural attributes with neighbouring clans, and identifying some of the significant occurrences that shaped their community. It treats in some detail the realities of the acquisition of part of their homeland to establish a port town in the second decade of the twentieth century and the swift changes that it caused to the way of life of the natives who had to adjust as best as they could.
The reader gets a sense of the parochial and pristine worldview of the native Rebisi people of Port Harcourt before the twentieth century and gains some insight into the nature of the challenges faced by them within the burgeoning Port Harcourt in its first half century and beyond. Some of the themes and issues treated in this book may have yet to attract sufficient heuristic fascination, still, the author reveals some of them through focused inquiry, chronological connectedness, and lucid narration.