The Amanyanabo and Natural Ruler of Grand Bonny Kingdom, His Majesty, King Edward Asimini William Dappa Pepple III, CON, DSSRS, JP, Perekule XI, has placed education at the heart of Bonny Kingdom’s emerging strategy to attract investment, grow tourism and reposition the historic island as a destination of choice.
The monarch spoke on Friday, August 28, 2026, at the commissioning of the reconstructed, furnished and equipped Bonny National Grammar School, where he commended the Rivers State Government for what he described as an important investment in the future of the Kingdom.
In a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Adolf Ransom Pepple, the King said the renewed institution represented “much more than the commissioning of a school,” describing it as the restoration of a cherished legacy and an investment in the future of Bonny.
His position comes against the backdrop of renewed efforts to reposition Bonny as a premier destination for investment and tourism.
The recently concluded Bonny Island Investment and Tourism Summit, held from August 18 to 20 under the theme, “Bonny Island: Transforming into a Premier Global Destination,” brought government, investors, industry players and community stakeholders together to explore pathways for unlocking the Kingdom’s economic, cultural and tourism potential.
The summit, alongside growing efforts to promote Bonny’s heritage and tourism assets, has reinforced an emerging development narrative: that the Kingdom’s future must extend beyond its traditional industrial identity to embrace tourism, entrepreneurship, innovation, culture and other areas of the emerging economy.
For King Perekule XI, however, the success of that ambition will depend fundamentally on the quality of Bonny’s human capital.
‘Our young people must be prepared’
Established in 1965, Bonny National Grammar School has for decades served as one of the Kingdom’s major centres of learning and character formation. Its reconstruction, the monarch noted, restores an important part of Bonny’s educational heritage while providing a platform for preparing a new generation for the opportunities ahead.
“We are not simply opening renovated classrooms. We are giving new life to a legacy,” he said.
The King identified the people of Bonny, particularly its young population, as the Kingdom’s greatest resource and called for greater emphasis on science, technology, technical and vocational education, digital literacy, entrepreneurship and maritime-related disciplines.
“Our young people must be exposed to the skills that will prepare them for the industries and opportunities of tomorrow,” he said.
The emphasis is significant for a Kingdom whose economic future is intertwined with its maritime location, industrial activities and growing tourism prospects.
As Bonny seeks to attract new investments and visitors, the availability of a skilled, educated and enterprising local population will be critical to ensuring that the benefits of such development are increasingly anchored within the community.
The monarch’s message was therefore as much about Bonny’s future as it was about the school itself.
‘A great school is defined by its people’
Addressing the management and teaching staff, King Perekule XI cautioned that physical infrastructure alone could not deliver educational transformation.
“A great school is not defined only by its buildings. It is defined by the quality of the people it produces,” he said.
He charged teachers to combine academic excellence with character formation, urging them to instil discipline, integrity, patriotism, respect and compassion in students.
To the students, he urged them to maximise the renewed facilities, embrace technology, acquire relevant skills and develop the confidence to pursue ambitious goals.
“Never allow your circumstances to define the limits of your ambition,” the monarch told them.
The reconstructed institution includes upgraded learning and supporting facilities, strengthening its capacity to provide a more conducive environment for academic, technical and digital learning.
Building the people behind the destination
The development assumes added significance as Bonny increasingly seeks to market itself beyond its traditional economic profile.
The recent investment and tourism summit was part of that broader effort, bringing renewed attention to the Kingdom’s investment opportunities, cultural heritage and tourism potential. The Federal Government has also endorsed Bonny Island as a tourism destination, further strengthening efforts to position the Kingdom within Nigeria’s wider tourism landscape.
But the King’s intervention suggests that destination development must go hand in hand with human-capital development.
Investors require skilled manpower. Tourism requires trained hospitality and service professionals. The maritime economy requires specialised expertise. Digital enterprises require technological skills, while entrepreneurship requires education that equips young people to create opportunities rather than merely seek them.
It is against this backdrop that the restoration of Bonny National Grammar School assumes strategic importance.
Rather than viewing education as a standalone social service, the Bonny Traditional Institution is increasingly presenting it as an essential pillar of the Kingdom’s economic transformation.
Fubara: ‘We have broken the cycle’
Governor Sir Siminalayi Fubara, who commissioned the project, said he was the first Rivers State Governor in the last 20 years to commission a project in Bonny, expressing hope that the development had broken what he described as a cycle of successive governments making promises without executing projects in the Kingdom.
The Governor’s intervention was welcomed by the monarch, who expressed appreciation to the State Government for recognising the fundamental importance of education to human and societal development.
The occasion was also an opportunity for the King to acknowledge the Old Boys of Bonny National Grammar School for maintaining their relationship with the institution.
He urged them to deepen their support through mentorship, scholarships, professional expertise, academic programmes and continued infrastructure development.
The monarch equally called for sustained collaboration among the Rivers State Government, Bonny Traditional Institution, Bonny Local Government Council, the Old Boys, private sector and the wider community to safeguard the facilities and continually raise educational standards.
A foundation for Bonny’s next chapter
The commissioning followed a courtesy visit by Governor Fubara to the Amanyanabo-in-Council at the Bonny Consulate Building and was attended by government officials, legislators, traditional rulers, chiefs, members of the Bonny Legislative Assembly, the Titled Citizens Assembly, Old Boys, community organisations, school management and students.
For the Amanyanabo, the ultimate objective extends beyond the immediate benefits of a reconstructed school.
He reaffirmed the commitment of the Bonny Traditional Institution to education, youth development and human-capital advancement, expressing a vision of a Kingdom where every child has access to quality education and young people are adequately prepared to compete in Nigeria and the global economy.
That vision now sits at the intersection of Bonny’s wider repositioning.
As the Kingdom seeks to leverage its history, maritime heritage, industrial base, cultural assets and tourism potential to attract investment and visitors, the restoration of its educational institutions signals a deliberate investment in the people who will ultimately drive that transformation.
Bonny’s emerging proposition, therefore, is not simply about building a more attractive destination. It is about building the people capable of sustaining one. And for King Perekule XI, that journey begins in the classroom.
