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Nigeria’s King of Money: The Untold Story of Igbo Tycoon, Victor Okafor, the Eze Ego 1 of Ihiala

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Victor Okafor a.k.a Ezego.1 King of Money

Here is the story of a man of many sides, Chief Victor Nnamdi Okafor, the Eze Ego (King of Money) I of Ihiala a.k.a Udu Bunch a.k.a The Young Millionaire, the Igbo tycoon who died tragically at a time he was to be celebrating his birthday 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…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>
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.
Gate to his mansion
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.
Eze Ego’s residence left in total ruins
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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Woman mourned the death of her husband at his funeral ‘only to find him at her doorstep 4 days later’!

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The unfortunate woman, Victoria, told local news outlets that she ended the year with a tragedy. During a visit to the local hospital, she was told by hospital staff that her husband, Julio, passed away from c0ronavirus.

She reportedly identified the body that she was shown in the hospital morgue, after which the medical staff released the corpse to the grieving wife.

Making arrangements to pay the last respects to her husband, Victoria, arranged to have Julio’s body be taken 30 miles away from the hospital to her village in Honduras.

She then spent one entire night surrounded by distressed relatives as they had an all-night wake before his final burial the next day…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

 

On the day of the funeral, Julio’s children saw the open coffin and found something amiss. They took a look at the body and wondered whether it was really that of their father’s.

But despite their doubts, the relatives reportedly went ahead with the ceremony and the man was laid to rest in a funeral that Victoria spent more than $430.

In the days that followed, Victoria continued grieving for her husband until, out of nowhere, she saw Julio himself arrive back at their house on the fourth day since the funeral was held.

“That wasn’t my husband who died, because I have my husband here now. I recognised him,” the wife said, as quoted by the Daily Mail.

It was only after her husband returned home that Victoria discovered he had been missing for a few days because he went for a walk and fell over at a spot in the neighboring municipality.

Unable to get up, the man spent several days there, surviving without anything to drink or eat. He was later found injured in a field before his return home. Although her husband was back, it also meant that she buried a complete stranger in her village and her family has no idea who they were grieving for. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

“I would like them to give me back some of what I spent, because they gave me the body of someone I don’t know,” Victoria shared.

“The authorities at the morgue should have properly examined him to see if it was really him.”

But on the other hand, the hospital said that the wife was to blame for misidentifying the man as her husband. They confirmed that the man arrived with Covid-19, and because of his serious condition, he didn’t survive in the hospital for more than a few hours.

The hospital staff had a look at the picture Victoria was carrying of her husband, and they found him to resemble the body of the man in the morgue. In addition to this, Victoria herself recognized the body at the time as that of her husband’s.

The hospital director reportedly said, “The logical thing was to bring the body back so we could investigate.

But later the relatives called back and said he was the right person after all and they were going to bury him.

We have everything documented. We even have an apology from one of the children, if this becomes a lawsuit.”

 

 

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A Girl Rushed Out Of McDonald’s Bathroom Crying, Then Her Mom Saw Something Wrong On Her Legs

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The restaurant was packed with hungry customers busy eating at their tables when the customers’ attention shifted to a four-year-old girl named Kayla running towards her mom. Kayla’s face was filled with tears, and she was hysterically crying when she reached her mom’s arm. While Kayla’s mom, Nicole, was comforting her daughter, she asked her daughter what was wrong. Kayla was still crying and couldn’t speak; she continued sobbing like she was in deep pain. That was when Nicole started scanning her daughter’s body and saw what was wrong.

There was something on Kayla’s leg. Hello, wonderful people! I’m Jamie Buck from Wonderbot, and here is a story about a girl who rushed out of a McDonald’s bathroom crying. Then her mom saw something wrong on her legs. Before we begin, make sure you smash the like button, subscribe to our channel, and click the notification bell for more amazing videos…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

 

It was during New Year’s Day when Nicole and her daughter Kayla decided to spend their day at the park and buy some food at McDonald’s. It was Kayla’s favorite fast food. The two were so excited to spend time together and bond at the park. While Nicole was closing their front door, she turned to Kayla and asked her if she was ready to have fun. Kayla nodded her head with excitement, having no idea what was about to come to them.

When Nicole and Kayla arrived at the park, the piercing sun was shimmering down on them. It was a perfect bright day to spend at the park. Kayla immediately ran towards the roundabout and asked her mom to spin her. You could hear Kayla’s giggle throughout the playground while her mom was spinning her. Nicole’s phone started ringing, and she turned around to answer the call while Kayla got off the roundabout to go to the slides.

While Nicole was busy talking on her phone, she suddenly heard a scream. Nicole quickly ended her call when she realized it was Kayla. The moment Nicole got off the phone, she turned around to find Kayla had fallen from the slide and scratched her head. She was so worried about what had happened and continued comforting her daughter while she was sobbing. After a while, when Kayla had finally calmed down, she asked her mom if she could get food already.

Nicole immediately stood up and told her daughter, “Yes, of course, dear.” The two left the park and drove off to the nearest McDonald’s, which was about 10 minutes away from where they were. Little did Nicole know that it would have been better if they just ate somewhere else. When Nicole and Kayla arrived at McDonald’s and walked into the restaurant, they noticed that the place was filled with people. Nicole’s attention was caught by a group of teenagers that were seated in the corner of the restaurant.

The group was listening to music while sipping on their soda. Two of the teenagers suddenly turned their look at Nicole and her daughter and sniggered. What could those two be thinking? It was mentioned earlier the restaurant was packed, so it’s no surprise that the line was long too. After what seemed like forever standing in line, it was finally Nicole’s turn to order.

While she was ordering their food, she asked Kayla to sit at the table in the corner and wait there while she was ordering food. Kayla politely followed her mom’s instructions and sat at the table while watching a video on YouTube on her mom’s phone. But then suddenly, a scream was heard throughout the restaurant. A scream came from the teenager that was sitting in the corner of the restaurant. The group started a fight and were yelling at each other.

Nicole immediately walked over to Kayla and comforted her, trying to drive her attention away from the battle by making her watch YouTube videos. Staff from the restaurant quickly went to the group to break up the fight and kick them out of the place. While the group was kicked out, two teenage girls from the circle were still sitting at the table. It was finally time to eat. The smell of burgers and fries lingered in the air as Nicole and Kayla started digging into their well-deserved lunch.

Kayla was eating a Happy Meal while Nicole was eating her chicken burger and some fries. In the middle of their mealtime, Kayla suddenly looked at her mom with a stern but innocent look. “Mommy, I need to use the toilet,” Kayla whispered as she finished the last bite of her cheeseburger. Kayla wiped her hands and got up to go to the toilet. When she walked over, she noticed the lock was shut.

There must be someone in there, she thought. She looked back at her mom, who smiled at her. Suddenly, she heard something. It was coming from inside the toilet. Giggles and laughs could be heard while Kayla was patiently waiting outside the toilet. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

After a couple of minutes remaining, the door opened, and the two teenage girls from earlier went out of the bathroom together with a smirk on their faces. Nicole was intimidated by the girls as she watched them walk past Kayla. Nicole then signaled her daughter to enter the toilet and assured Kayla that she’ll stay outside and wait for her. While Nicole was patiently waiting for Kayla at her table, she heard a scream coming from the toilet. “Mom!

Kayla screamed while running out of the bathroom with tears streaming down her face. Nicole immediately stood up from her seat, not minding her bag that fell onto the floor. As a mother, one thing that you never want to hear is the sound of your kid screaming. Kayla ran into her mom’s arms, sobbing. In the toilet, she says, Nicole immediately went to the toilet to check what was wrong.

She scanned the whole room and thought there was nothing wrong there, so she continued studying to see what could be the reason behind her daughter’s outburst. She saw that there were a few toilet paper rolls rolled out on the floor, and the faucet was dripping. Nicole checked the toilet seat, and that is when she figured the reason for her child’s outburst. When she went to the toilet seat, she noticed that it looked like the chair was covered with a white sticky substance. But as Nicole got closer to inspect, she realized that it was glue.

The toilet seat was smothered with super glue. She then realized that someone did this on purpose. Nicole stormed out of the toilet while her heart was pounding and yelled to call the manager and all employees in the restaurant. Nicole went over to her daughter, who was still crying and yelling in pain. She checked on Kayla to see what was wrong and saw that her daughter’s skin was peeled off at the back of her legs.

While Kayla was still crying in her mother’s arms, Kayla was terrified of what happened, and her mother was furious. Nicole yelled out for help in the crowd while stopping her tears from falling out of her eyes. Joanna, the assistant manager at McDonald’s, thought that she had seen it all, from small fights over a Big Mac to a drunk customer and misbehaving teens. She was trained and was already used to handling heated situations. She knew what to do to solve problems, but in her 15 years in the industry, it was the first time to see and experience something like this.

She had never seen anything like this. The moment Nicole asked for help, Joanna and her co-employees all gathered around Kayla and provided medical assistance. The staff helped in cleaning the wound and bandaging her up while Kayla was crying in her mom’s chest. After that, Nicole decided to go to the nearest hospital, so she called a family member to come and get them. But the assistance that was given to them was not enough for Nicole.

She knew that there was something that she needed to do. Nicole took the matter to her social media account and shared on her personal Facebook what happened, hoping that this would bring the pranksters to justice. On her post, Nicole wrote, “To the two young blonde girls that thought it would be hilarious to put super glue on the disabled and baby changing toilet in McDonald’s, I just want you to know that I still have to console my four-year-old daughter who was unfortunate enough to use the toilet after your little prank. She is hoping that the two teenage girls who played the prank on her daughter would be found and punished. Kayla is just an innocent little girl and does not deserve all of this.

After some investigations, the two teenage girls were finally found and were interviewed by the police officers. The two girls immediately admitted what they did and sincerely apologized to Nicole and Kayla. The two girls said they were regretting what they did and that it was a prank gone wrong. But was the apology enough for Nicole and daughter Kayla? Imagine Kayla, a four-year-old who would have to live her life with this terrible memory marked in her mind.

After hearing that the police had taken appropriate action against the two teenage girls, Nicole felt relieved. It’s been weeks since the incident happened, and the things that happened that day are still fresh in her mind. She watches as her daughter peacefully plays with her dolls. Some justice finally, she thought to herself. She takes a sip of her cup of coffee before smiling to herself and watching her brave daughter playing.

Such a story right? This story just proves to show that pranks can be a fun way to trick your friends, but it can result in a bad scenario. Hopefully, Nicole and Kayla’s experience will remind those people who love doing pranks and tricks on their friends to think twice about the people they would upset all for the sake of a laugh. So next time you want to play a prank on someone, make sure to think about it first and that no one will get hurt.

 

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The bus driver picked up the children early in the morning as usual, and the parents found out they were not at school

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Black ice (a thin layer of new ice on a road) is dangerous. If you have ever tried to walk or ride it then you know.

This is why the parents of Shelby County were not surprised when they were informed that school would start late because they had to wait for the ice on the road to melt.

Unfortunately, bus driver Wayne Price did not receive the message on time. He had already collected all the children, and knew that returning them to their homes
would only increase the chance of an accident. So instead, he did something completely different…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

 

Instead of parking the bus and letting the kids play on the smartphone for two hours, he knew he needed to do something to keep them busy.

His actions may not have been according to the book, but they also did not surprise elementary school principals in Montevallo, Alabama.

Understand, they know Wayne. They know he is capable of doing such a ‘trick’.

But the children did not know what to expect. When they stopped at a local McDonald’s branch they must have wondered if Wayne had lost it. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

Turns out he just wanted to buy all the kids breakfast, and paid for everyone’s breakfast instead of the breakfast they were supposed to eat at school.

To put things in perspective, there were between 40 and 50 kids on Wayne’s bus, so you can imagine how much the bill came out. School principals responded to the
gesture on Facebook and wrote: “Mr. Price, one of our bus drivers, really demonstrated the holiday spirit! On Tuesday, when school started late because of ice on the
road and we could not serve breakfast, he bought breakfast at McDonalds for all the kids who were on the bus! What a wonderful gesture that the students will
remember forever!”

After hearing every good deed of the bus driver, people from all over the world flooded Wayne with messages of support and encouragement.

What a beautiful thing to do, and what a wonderful way to do above and beyond for kids who he so obviously care about!

If you think Wayne Price’s deed is commendable, share the article with your friends and family!

 

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