The Asagba of Asaba, Prof. Epiphany Azinge (SAN), has redefined a key aspect of Asaba’s historical narrative by correcting the name of the town’s progenitor from “Nnebisi” to “Kainebisi.”
Prof. Azinge, who is the 14th Asagba of Asaba, made the announcement during the commissioning of a new statue of the revered progenitor, an event held to mark the monarch’s first coronation anniversary.
He explained that the new statue was a self-initiated project by the people of Asaba, expressing gratitude to the Delta State government for constructing the earlier version, which was eventually damaged by harsh weather conditions.
Speaking at the event, the Asagba said: “We are gathered here to commission the statue of the founding father of Asaba, our progenitor and source of our beginning.
“Asaba has always been there for the past 1,000 years. There were other people in Asaba as at the time our now acclaimed founding father came into the ancient town, but he emerged after a period of contestation, if I may have to use that expression.
“And to that extent, everything that is done in Asaba, for it to have the validity it requires, there must be a trace to the man that stands as the statue, our founding father; and that is Kainebisi.
“In many historical documents, we’ve gotten it wrong because you will find progressively, Nnebisi.
“It is a distortion of history. The correct historical proposition is that when he was born, the acclamation was ‘Kainebisi mali ife nwaa ga abu’, literarily meaning ‘let’s watch and see what this child will be’.
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“So, there’s no way that the short form could have been Nnebisi.
“And you have heard today that from that proposition of Nnebisi, people believe that Asaba people are matrilineal, but we are actually patrilineal; we claim according to our father’s, not our mother’s line.
“And to that extent, it is Kainebisi. The father of our founding father was, undoubtedly, from Igala and his mother hailed from Nteje.
“His mother was not from Asaba, so she could not have been our progenitor. But his father was and, to that extent, we are traceable to him.
“So, we are here today to pay homage to our founding father. The statue has been there repeatedly.”
The event, which drew notable sons and daughters of Asaba, marked a symbolic reaffirmation of the town’s historical roots and identity under the leadership of Asagba Azinge.
