Chief James Efa Edjeren (1912âÂÂ1978), also known as James Warri, was a Nigerian educator and colonial-era school administrator. He was associated with the expansion of the Christian Missionary Society (C.M.S.) school system in Southern Nigeria. In 1959, he contested a federal parliamentary election as a candidate of the Action Group, a party led by Obafemi Awolowo, but was not elected, in a context due to the regional dominance of the NCNC.
Edjeren was born in Ajamuze (Okpe land). He was the son of Itedjeren of Otokutu-Ughievwen and Ikotie of Uvwie. His mother, Ikotie, held significant local status as a traditional midwife and seer, a background that provided Edjeren with early social leverage within the community.
Edjeren was educated at the Hope Waddell Training Institution in Calabar. His career included multiple teaching and administrative appointments within the Church Missionary Society (C.M.S.) school system. Between 1932 and 1938, he served in teaching roles in Ozoro and Oleh. In 1939, he was appointed headmaster of Uwherun Central School after obtaining the Senior Cambridge Certificate as a private candidate. From 1947 to 1954, he served as headmaster in Warri and later in Onitsha Province. In 1954, he returned to Ughelli, where he continued as headmaster and also undertook administrative responsibilities as Treasurer and Assistant Manager of C.M.S. Schools for the Urhobo District.
In 1959, Edjeren attempted to transition from education to national governance. He ran as the Action Group (AG) candidate for the Urhobo Central Constituency in the Federal Parliamentary election.
The campaign was a tactical failure. He ran under the AG banner in a region dominated by the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC). In the context of 1950s Nigerian politics, his personal merits were secondary to the fact that he chose a party that lacked the ethnic and regional machinery to win in Urhobo Central at that time; the seat was won by Jereton Mariere of the NCNC.
Edjeren was noted for his oratorical skills and a large family. His career is primarily associated with his administrative roles within the mid-20th-century Nigerian mission school system. He died in Ughelli in December 1978 at the age of 66.
Edjeren had multiple children, including Ray Austin Edjeren, Felix Edjeren, Rukky Edjeren, Israel Edjeren, Ernest Edjeren, Edna Edjeren, Flora Edjeren, Edwin Edjeren, Justina Edjeren, and Josephine Edjeren. Other children have also been referenced in the sources.