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Techfile: Victor Okafor Ezego: The Story Of Nigeria’s King Of Money - biography
Mention Victor Okafor and no one will twitch a
muscle. But mention EZEGO, King of Money and you
will see the eyes of many Nigerians light up with
excitement. He would have been one of Africa’s
billionaires. He was fair-skinned, spoke softly and
warm smiles danced on his chubby cheeks
accentuated by a not-too-bushy moustache. He was
relatively very young but as at that time, he was
very well-known and duly respected in the Nigerian
business society.
Here is the story of a man of many sides, Chief Victor
Nnamdi Okafor, the Eze Ego (King of Money) I of
Ihiala aka Udu Bunch aka The Young Millionaire, the
Igbo tycoon who died tragically at a time he was to
be celebrating his birthday.
EARLY DAYS, EDUCATION AND GROWING UP
A first son and a native of Uzoakwa, Ihiala in
Anambra State, the late Ezego was born on the 25th
of December, 1964. Ezego’s story is often touted as
one of the classic rags-to-riches stories in Nigeria. He
had his primary school education at the Uzoakwa
Primary School but he was forced to drop out in the
secondary school, Abbot Boys’ Secondary School,
Ihiala and eventually took to business.
His childhood was a very traumatic one and at a
point, his own father reportedly disowned him when
he was nabbed for being a member of a robbery
gang that showed Onitsha traders hell on earth .
THE ESCAPE, BUSINESS AND MAKING MONEY
While some of his fellow gangsters were caught and
punished, Ezego fled to Umumeni Village where his
angry father was said to have driven him out. From
there, he went to Umuduru, his mother’s village.
However, things were not rosy for him at Umuduru
and in 1989, he decided to move to Lagos where he
joined a mentor. What happened years after that
remain shrouded in mystery but the next time the
world would be hearing of Ezego, he was already a
multimillionaire, one of the crème de la crème of
Lagos.
In Lagos, he set up the Ezego Shopping Complex on
Allen Avenue (there was also a branch in Abuja) and
also the Ezego Plaza on the Murtala Muhammed
International Airport Road. From these spots, he
operated and controlled one of the biggest electronics
store in Nigeria. His other companies were Vic-
Winners International Limited, Ezego Nigeria Limited,
Ezego Holdings Limited, Vitex Zinc Co. Limited and
Ezego Properties Limited.
HIS WEALTH AND PROPERTY
Ezego built houses, villas and mansions all over the
country, one of which was an made of glass. All his
real estate as at 1999 outside Ihiala was put at about
half a billion naira.
The expansive mansion that served as his country
home in Ihiala was worth another N500 million with
the marble used for the walls imported from Italy.
A LOVER OF CARS
As at the time Ezego was alive, he had one of the
largest private car garages in all of Africa. He loved
cars and was always purchasing the latest ones
stocking his garages at Ihiala and Lagos. A car freak
of the first class, his garage alone was valued at
almost one billion naira. He once dropped N14 million
to acquire just two posh cars: a Sedan Lincoln
Continental Mark 8 and a Mercedes Benz R230
convertible from Moontrends, owned by Tayo Ayeni.
Actually, as at the time of his death, he left behind
countless state-of-the-art cars, 70 houses all over
Nigeria and overseas and over N10 billion naira in his
bank account.
LOVE, FAMILY, ROMANCE AND MARRIAGE
He was married to the fair-complexioned and
beautiful Laurita Nkechi, a princess from Akata in Imo
State and the marriage produced eight children.
Following the death of her husband, Princess Nkechi
relocated from Ajao Estate where she had stayed
with her husband to Lekki. As at December 2013, it
was reported by Nigeria Business Guide that she was
taking her husband’s business empire to greater
heights with her children in top universities around
the globe.
By the way, Ezego’s first son was from a Japanese
woman. He also fathered kids with other women
apart from his wife, Nkechi.
On Thursday, 14th March, 2002, there was a case
(Suit Number CA/E/166M/2000) before the Court of
Appeal, Enugu Judicial Division and it was between
Ezego’s wife and Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa on one hand
as the appellants and Mrs. Elizabeth Onedibe, Citizens
International Bank Limited, Zenith International Bank
Limited and Diamond Bank Limited on the other hand
as the respondents. Ezego had his accounts with
these three banks.
HIS DEATH
On the 25th of December, 1999, death came knocking
on Ezego’s door. But, he was not even aware in the
slightest. Ezego’s birthday was on the 25th of
December and it was his usual tradition to storm
Ihiala, his hometown every Christmas for the double
celebration (actually, it was a triple celebration: his
birthday, Christmas and the New Year). His kinsmen
and women in Ihiala eagerly awaited his annual
homecoming which meant a lot of goodies for
everyone. And so it was that fateful December of
1999. Ezego and everyone in his family were in high
spirits and plans were fully made for the trip back
home.
Ezego was in the habit of storming the sleepy, rustic
hometown of Ihiala, impressing his people with his
legendary wealth and affluence. Thus, the 1999
edition was no different. The whole of Nigeria would
know that Ezego was in town. Some of the most
sought-after musicians in the world’s most populous
black nation were billed to entertain the guests at the
most exciting galore of the year. Afrobeat maestro,
Femi Kuti and his Positive Force Band were billed to
dazzle the guests and rock the community to its very
foundation.
To show how serious Ezego took the party, the
moneybag personally visited the Afrikan Shrine to
meet Femi Anikulapo-Kuti in order to ensure that all
went on smoothly. The party was billed to start from
the night of Christmas to the Boxing Day (26th) so
Ezego decided to start his trip from Lagos on the 23rd
of December. But little did he know that all his efforts
were in vain. He was unconsciously planning for his
own funeral. But what precisely happened?
On the 23rd of December, Ezego left Lagos as
planned, heading towards the southeastern region of
Nigeria. He took off in a most flashy style, in a
convoy of six of his finest automobiles. These included
a Lincoln Navigator (1999 model), limousine, blue
Porsche, Lexus jeep, a Cherokee jeep and a latest
Honda. The interesting thing about that fateful trip
was that Ezego would normally fly to either Enugu or
Port Harcourt where he would then be driven in a
convoy to Ihiala. However, the fatal rates of air
crashes during that period claimed to have made him
change his mind. The outcome was disastrous for the
mogul.
For some unknown reasons, Ezego decided to get
behind his Lexus jeep in the convoy and drive himself
all the way from Lagos to Ihiala. But somewhere
along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the first trouble
reared its nasty head. Trouble started when the
Cherokee’s jeep’s engine became faulty. But Ezego
was in a hurry and could not even entertain the idea
of missing his schedule and arriving on time. So he
decided to keep ‘managing’ the jeep for as long as
possible. But by the time the jeep got to Asaba in
Delta State, the car broke down completely in the oil-
rich state. Now, things were not getting funny
anymore. Ezego was obviously in distress. His people
were waiting for him back home so the carnival
would start in earnest but here was his car that he
shelled out of millions of naira for, giving him the
worst headache of his life at a most unexpected
moment.
But you know how dangerous Nigerian roads are .
Ezego did not want to leave his cherished automobile
in the middle of nowhere in Asaba at the mercy of
robbers. Not the car he bought with so much money.
So, he bellowed at one of his boys to purchase a
chain so the jeep would be towed. The lad returned
with the chain, which was then attached to the faulty
jeep. However, that was the beginning of his
problem because Ezego was said to have insisted on
towing the broken-down vehicle all by himself with
him driving the Lexus pulling the Cherokee. So he
was in front while another of his boys was behind
the wheels of the Cherokee. Well, no one was in a
position to argue with the boss, so they continued
their trip until that fateful moment when they
reached a spot between Ozabulu and Okija on the
Onitsha/Owerri Road. At that point, they were just
two kilometers away from Ihiala in Anambra State,
Ezego’s hometown and their final destination, and
that was when death decided to unveil his dreadful
figure.
Ezego reportedly ran into a damaged portion of the
road while he was going down a steep slope and all
of a sudden, he stepped on the brakes. The driver of
the Cherokee behind him was caught unawares and
as he was not even prepared for the sudden stop, he
suddenly rammed the Cherokee into Ezego’s shiny
Lexus, sending the millionaire tumbling down a deep
ditch by the roadside. It must however be noted that
there are some other slightly different accounts of
precisely how the accident happened.
Other reports stated that it was actually the towing
chain between the two jeeps that snapped, thus
forcing the Cherokee at the rear to ram into Ezego’s
Lexus making him lost control and plunging into that
horrible ditch. Immediately this happened, his convoy
was thrown into a pandemonium. Those in his
convoy made frantic and desperate efforts to get him
out of the ditch and get him the most effective
medical attention promptly. By the time they finally
succeeded in getting Ezego out of the ditch, he had
sustained a deep gash and his face was massively
puffed up, thus disfiguring his handsome face.
He was rushed to the nearby Lady of Lourdes
Hospital (where Ezego incidentally made a donation
of N15 million naira a few years before the accident).
He was still alive and stable when they brought him
to the hospital and all the medical workers went into
an overdrive to save the life of a man they know as
a mentor and generous giver. However, things got
worse and to make matters even more frightening,
there was no doctor on duty. By the time a medical
doctor eventually showed up, Ezego was already
bleeding through his mouth, he was having internal
bleeding and was already in shock. All attempts to
stabilize him failed.
At that point, his family members suggested that he
be quickly moved to a better-equipped hospital in
Port Harcourt. At this point, his tale becomes hazy as
it is not known whether he finally died while he was
on his way to Port Harcourt or while he was being
prepared for a flight to Lagos from Port Harcourt.
Ezego died on the 26th, Boxing Day. He was just 34.
THE AFTERMATH
However, his community is yet to forget him. Those
who were old enough to remember him still miss him
sorely while those who are teenagers now barely
have an idea of who he was. After Ezego’s death, the
same fate that befell many African entrepreneurs
crept in, and his vast business empire collapsed. In
December 2013, YES International! revealed that
Ezego’s empire had collapsed and the majestic house
he built at his hometown of Uzoakwa Ihiala was a
ghostly shadow of its former self:
For instance, the flowers and street lights that
hitherto beautified his popular Ezego Road have
either been vandalized or over grown by weeds.
Even some parts of the road have been washed
away by erosion. The popular entrance to the inviting
Ezego Crescent has also lost its beauty and glory, as
the heavenly trees and flowers that used to welcome
visitors are gradually dying off. His magnificent
country home, 15 years after his death, is seriously
crying for a new look. It is also fast falling apart and
begging for attention. In fact, some parts of the glass
house have started falling off and decaying. Even the
uncompleted duplexes inside are still the way he left
them.
His pretty and very fair-complexioned wife was said
to have married the family lawyer and precisely
what happened to his property and estate is still a
controversy.
The controversies in Ezego’s life did not subside even
after his death. His lawyer and the person that was
responsible for the execution of his will, Barnabas
Igwe was murdered in cold blood, with his wife,
Abigail on the 2nd of September, 2002, barely three
years after Ezego’s demise. Ezego’s will was thus,
never read, and the exact beneficiaries are not
known (at least as at January 2006). The Inspector-
General of Police, Sunday Ehindero, was called upon
to investigate all leads (including Ezego’s widow and
a former police commissioner) relating to the murder
of the Igwes but like many murder cases in Nigeria, it
led to nothing useful. While the former governor of
Ezego’s Anambra State, Chinwoke Mbadinuju, was
accused of having a hand in the killings, others stated
that the lawyer was killed with his wife in relation to
the tussle over Ezego’s will and property.
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