Between May 29th 2011, when he was sworn in as the governor of Imo State and May 29th 2019, when he left office, there was never a dull moment in the public life of Owelle Rochas Okorocha. The trouble was he extended his theatrics into acts that affected the smooth running of government.
Let’s cite a comical example.
On March 24th 2012, the governor and his entourage were in Kosovo to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with that country’s government.
The MoU was for the construction of estates, an Agro-processing plant and an independent power plant in Imo. According to the governor, the plant would supply the state with 500 megawatts of electricity.
That day, Behgjet Pacolli, the Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo, addressed his guests in Albanian, his country’s official language. A diplomat in English interpreted the host’s statements. And Rochas Okorocha was seen nodding his head and beaming with smiles.
These nonverbal communications showed he understood the message. But when it was his turn to speak, the governor spoke in his native Igbo language. Everyone was shocked. Even those who saw the spectacle live on African Independent Television were surprised.
To save the day, a former senator on the governor’s entourage started interpreting Rochas Okorocha’s speech into English. It was then translated into Albanian. And the ‘circus’ continued, extending the time the ceremony would have lasted.
Let’s cite an unconstitutional example.
In June 2011, Rochas Okorocha sacked all the 27 local government chairpersons elected under the umbrella of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state. In their place, the governor, who won on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, set up transition committees headed by his loyalists.
The matter was dragged before the state’s High Court, where it was ruled in favour of the government. Justice Benjamin Njemanze, the Chief Judge of Imo, noted that the governor had no power to dissolve the democratically elected council administrators.
But he submitted that the administrators were unable to convince him that the governor had sacked them. Despite attaching a newspaper clipping containing the text of the governor’s broadcast, in which he announced their ouster. The judge dismissed their suit for lack of merit.
Rochas Okorocha reverted to his comical best when the Court of Appeal overturned the state’s High Court verdict. On the day the chairpersons resumed, the governor declared a three-day public holiday for all the staff in the state’s councils.
When the workers resumed after three days, they met the gates locked. They were told the holidays had been extended indefinitely!
We present Owelle Rochas Okorocha’s biography.
Rochas Okorocha: Birth
Sixty years, six months and 22 days have passed since September 22nd 1962, when Owelle Rochas Anayo Okorocha was born in Ogboko, Ideato South, Imo State.
The movie, The Music Man, was at the top of the Box Office. We don’t know if Rochas Okorocha is into movies or music. But the film is about a con man who comes to a midwestern town with a scam using a boys’ marching band as a decoy.
Before you start making any allusion, the movie’s setting was a midwestern town in America. Imo State is in the southeastern part of Nigeria and Rochas Okorocha isn’t a con artist! He’s a Roman Catholic.
His father is from Imo State, and his mother hails from Anambra State. He, however, identifies more with his maternal side. But then, both sides reeked of “all shades of poverty” while he was growing up in Jos, Plateau State.
“I was born into a very poor parentage. I almost did not go to school. If help did not come from above that I was able to acquire education,” he said.
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Rochas Okorocha: Education
Without a silver spoon in his mouth, it’s safe to say Rochas Okorocha didn’t pass through the four walls of a nursery school. And primary school as well? Well, we don’t have records of this, so can’t beat our chest and say he went to one.
He attended Juladaco High School, Jos, for his secondary school education, between 1976 and 1981. In 1991, he got a diploma in Public Administration at the University of Jos.
Lack of money or interest could have been the reason behind the decade-long gap in his educational pursuit. In 1993, he enrolled for an advanced diploma in the same course and institution. He graduated in 1994.
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Rochas Okorocha’s Political Career
Before venturing into politics, Rochas Okorocha was a business owner. Well, an itinerant business owner as he hawked groceries in Barkin Ladi, Jos. At 23, he was the proprietor of a commercial school. He ditched the assembly ground and classrooms and began trading in cement with the Benue Cement Company based in Gboko.
His business grew, and he became the Rochas Group of Companies Limited president. And the founder of the Rochas Foundation Inc. At various times, he was the president of the Nigeria Red Cross Society.
The pro-chancellor of the African Business School. The chairperson of the Board of Nigerian Airspace Management Agency. A commissioner on the Federal Character Commission, and a member of the National Constitutional Conference.
When democracy was restored in 1999, Rochas Okorocha was fully prepared. He contested in the primaries to be the PDP’s candidate for the governor of his state. But lost to Achike Udenwa, who later won the general election.
Rochas Okorocha moved to the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and ran for the party’s presidential nomination. A disappointing result in the primaries in 2003 ended his ambition. He retraced his steps to the PDP. And President Olusegun Obasanjo was gracious enough to appoint him as Special Adviser in Inter-Party affairs.
In 2005, Rochas Okorocha formed the Action Alliance (AA) party. The party didn’t gain traction, and he returned to the PDP again. He indicated his interest in becoming the party’s national chairperson.
When Governor Ikedi Ohakim decamped from the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) to the PDP in July 2009, Rochas Okorocha was no longer the party’s head in Imo. He denied that the governor had taken over the PDP in the state, saying he was named as a leader before Ikedi Ohakim came into the fray.
Rochas Okorocha’s talks were backed with a reversed action as he decamped from PDP to APGA to run as the party’s candidate in the state’s governorship election in 2011. He went on to campaign and eventually won the governorship seat in Imo, despite being suspended from the APGA on the verdict of “anti-party activities”.
The party was too small to stop him as Imo indigenes across Nigeria were charmed by his unconventional attitude, charisma, and oratorical prowess. His reputation as a philanthropist fortified his acceptance.
The logic was if the billionaire businessperson could spend so much on helping indigenes of the state without holding public office, he would perform wonders in the state if he became its number one citizen. After 100 days in the office, he moved from being a top dog to being dog food.
Rochas Okorocha’s goodwill with the people started wearing thin. Going by the great expectation he evoked during his campaigns, the people were in a hurry for him to deliver on his promises. Rather, what they witnessed was his penchant for cronyism. He exhibited this when constituting his bloated cabinet.
At that time, the governor had 17 commissioners, 14 senior special assistants, and 80 special assistants and members of various mayoral affairs committees. The role of one of his special assistants was as Chief Comedian!
While swearing them into the various offices, the governor said the special assistants would have to source for the funds with which to run their offices. This effectively turned them into nothing but executive touts.
After his first tenure, Rochas Okorocha decamped from the APGA to the All Progressives Congress (APC). His re-election bid was successful. In 2015, he started a second term as governor of the state. Four years after, most people still celebrate Rochas Okorocha’s proposals rather than Rochas Okorocha’s real achievements.
Despite all that, Rochas Okorocha continued his career in politics. He contested for the senatorial seat at the National Assembly in 2019 and won. He’s currently the Senator representing the Imo West Senatorial district. This is Nigeria!
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Rochas Okorocha’s EFCC video
On May 24th 2022, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) broke into the residence of Senator Rochas Okorocha in Maitama, Abuja, to effect his arrest.
According to the EFCC, Rochas Okorocha had refused to “honour invitations after jumping the administrative bail earlier granted him by the Commission”. The former governor accused the agency of holding him hostage in his own home and the EFCC to produce an arrest warrant.
The agency had on January 24th, 2022, filed a 17-count criminal charge bordering on diversion of public funds and properties to the tune of N2.9 billion against the Owelle.
The case was assigned to Honourable Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja. But attempts to arraign the APC stalwart were twice stalled because he evaded service of processes.
At the last adjourned date, March 28th, 2022, the judge, before adjourning until May 30th, 2022, had warned that it was “the last adjournment I shall grant in this matter”.
According to the EFCC, it was “left with no option than to effect the arrest of Senator Okorocha and bring him to trial”.
In case you missed it, you can relive the drama that was his arrest over again.
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Rochas Okorocha’s Net worth
Rochas Okorocha is among the wealthiest politicians in Nigeria. His estimated net worth is $1.4 billion. How he became wealthy and sustains it is akin to what William Shakespeare calls “a tale full of sound and fury, signifying nothing” in Macbeth.
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Rochas Okorocha’s Cars
Most Nigerian politicians often cut from the same cloth – a public display of wealth. And nothing announces it better than cars. His collection comprises a Rolls-Royce Phantom, a Mercedes-Benz S600, a Mercedes-Benz Klassen V220, a Mercedes Benz AMG63, and a Lexus LX 570 luxury car.
Rochas Okorocha’s Houses
Rochas Okorocha has several houses, but the one in Umuodu Mbieri in Mbaitoli local government area in Imo stands out. Even President Muhammadu Buhari couldn’t hide his astonishment at its grandeur when he paid the then-governor a visit.
It was reported that the president asked him: “Is this the government house”? Rochas Okorocha excitedly replied that the house belonged to him, not to the government.
“Kai, you’re a criminal,” the president was quoted to have said.
Rochas Okorocha’s Private jet
In addition to his collection of cars and mansions, Rochas Okorocha also has a private jet. Well, maybe jets, but we know the Learjet 45, aka LJ45. It’s a mid-size business jet aircraft.
Rochas Okorocha’s Wife
He married Nneoma Nkechi Okorocha in 1987. The couple has six children. They are Uloma Rochas Nwosu, Uju Rochas-Anwuka, Uchechi Rochas, Aham Rochas, Amen Rochas, and Amam Rochas.
Rochas Okorocha’s Phone number
We don’t have his phone number, but you can be among the 85.8k followers of the Senator on Instagram via @rochas_fdn. If Twitter is your thing, then @realRochas is waiting for your connection.
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Rochas Okorocha’s Foundation
Fifteen years before becoming the governor of his state, he established the Rochas Okorocha Foundation. It’s his way of giving back to society.
In 2001, the foundation gave birth to the Rochas Foundation College, with campuses in Jos, Kano, Ibadan, Owerri, and Ogboko. The college provides free education to all Nigerian students, regardless of the part of the country they were from.
The common assumption that philanthropy leads to the redistribution of wealth is wrong. A lot of elite philanthropy is about elite causes. But not Rochas Foundation College, which provides free quality secondary school education for mostly orphans and children from poor families.
“It gives me a lot of satisfaction because I would have been one of those boys working around the streets,” he said.
“It was a vow I made that in any way God helps me. I will help those who do not have.”
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Conclusion
Before the April 2011 governorship election in Imo, there was discontent over Governor Ikedi Ohakim’s ruling of the state, like his personal estate. Tales of his unconstitutional acts and brutality made the people yearn for a change.
However, the change they got in the emergence of Owelle Rochas Okorocha was no change. It was a case of one incubus being replaced by an ogre.
But redemption is not impossible.
