Meet Nigeria’s first millionaire Candido Da Rocha who did sent his clothes to Britain for laundry.

Meet Nigeria’s first millionaire Candido Da Rocha who did sent his clothes to Britain for laundry

There is a popular Yoruba parlance when translated it means spending money like Da Rocha.In another Yoruba parlance when people are lured to spend too much money they will tell you that do you think I am like Da Rocha? Or they tell you I am not Da Rocha.

eagleee.com brings you the story of the legendary rich man, Candido Da Rocha.

Candido Da Rocha was a very wealthy Lagosian. It is also popularly believed that he was the first known millionaire in Nigeria.

Da Rocha as he was fondly referred to was born in 1860 as the son of Joao Esan Da Rocha, a former slave who returned from Brazil to start a business empire.

The junior Da Rocha, Candido, was reported to have just the language skills of Portuguese and Ilesha on his return. He attended the popular CMS Grammar School in Lagos where he was the head boy. He was a friend to late Herbert Macaulay who was also his school mate.

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Nigeria’s first millionaire Candido Da Rocha and his luxury carriage

Da Rocha's Water Business

Candido was said to have laid water pipes from Iju to Lagos Island, Yaba Ebute Metta and other areas where there were high demand of pipe borne water. He was said to have lived in his house and operated the Iju water works.that served the whole of Lagos in the 20s. The colonial administrators were said to be paying Da Rocha for the supply of water to Lagos state. His house had the first bore hole and also the first water fountain. He was said to have sold water to the people from his house.

He made fortune from his water business such that he bcame very rich that the government had to take it over from him. His other business includes money lending which he did with two other rich men, J H Doherty and Sedu Williams and together that started a bank named the Lagos Native bank. He also went into fishery business and also opened a restaurant.

How Candido Da Rocha Became a Billion Through Gold Business:

In what was to eventually mark the beginning of his fortunes, an English gold prospector who wanted to travel back to England approached Da Rocha one in 1894 with bars of gold that he had mined and wanted to dispose of.

But there was a problem of funds as he did not have all the money required to buy the goods. The Englishman wanted 6,000 pounds. So, Candido da Rocha approached the Bank of West-Africa now known as First Bank. The bank lent Candido the required money with which he purchased the purchase of the gold bars.
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He was later to file the gold bars into gold dust and sold on retail to the local gold smiths. He was said to have made on a whopping 200% profit on the sales.

Candido Da Rocha Founded Lagos Native Bank :

Candido Da Rocha went into the banking business and was the first African to own a bank called Lagos Native Bank which was established in 1907. He he joined hands with two businessmen, J H Doherty and Sedu Williams, to establish the Lagos Native Bank but ran the bank himself.

Candido Da Rocha's house

Family life:

Research revealed that Candido da Rocha lived alone most of his adult life and was never formally married to any woman whether traditionally, in court or in the church despite being a strong Catholic. He was said to be a difficult man to live with.

Three women were known to have had children for him and lived with him briefly.

One of the women was originally from the old Gold Coast now Ghana who had his first child and only son called Alexander Candido da Rocha. The second woman who had a son for him died at an early age. Thereafter, he had four daughters; three of these were born by the same woman and one daughter, Mrs. Enitan Salako, from another woman.

The daughters, three in all include Louissa Ebun Turton, the second daughter was called Angelica Folashade who later became Mrs. Thomas.

Nigeria’s first millionaire Candido Da Rocha, his dad and mom

Candido da Rocha's Generosity :

Describing Da Rocha’s generosity, his 90-year-old granddaughter said, “People would come to him, crying, requesting financial assistance; from the balcony, asking how much they needed, he would throw down the money to them.

Candido Esan Da Rocha died in 1959 and is buried at Ikoyi Cemetery.

Though there was no Limousine nor Royce Rolls, Da rocha was said to have moved around in his luxury horse drawn carriage.

One of the grand daughters of Candido Da Rocha Angelica Oyediran in an interview with The Punch said of the wealth of her grandfather:

“Candido Da Rocha was quite close to the British and the western world then. He was highly respected and highly disciplined. He didn’t like dishonesty and lying. I stayed with him in this house for about three years when my mother moved in here to look after him. I was very close to him. He loved me and I was very fond of him. I learnt a lot from him. During the Second World War, Da Rocha offered one of his properties, Bonanza Hotel, to the British government to protect some Nigerian students at King’s College, who were initially in a boarding house at Race Course.

The school was run there until the war was over. Among his close friends was Herbert Macaulay. Da Rocha refused to be a politician. When he was nominated to contest an election and people approached him requesting money to support his electioneering, he said, ‘If you want Da Rocha you vote for him, and if you want Da Rocha’s money don’t vote for me.’ Twice, when Macaulay was arrested by the British colonial government for speaking out against them, Da Rocha paid (a fine) on his behalf to prevent Macaulay from going to jail and warned that he would not come to his rescue the third time. Da Rocha was a staunch catholic. He respected God. He was very rich – he was a millionaire in those days and very generous. The elite in those days sent their dirty clothes to Britain for laundry. The Da Rochas, Johnsons, Dohertys and the Olowus, were foremost wealthy people. They didn’t wash their clothes in Nigeria. They sent them abroad for laundry. Some of them had about five dozens shirts, five dozens vests, five dozens pants, and everything they could afford.”

Candido Da Rocha did not stumbled on money, neither did he stole people’s commonwealth before he became stupendously rich. His wealth could be traced to his father Joao Esan Da Rocha.

Joao Esan Da Rocha who was from Ilesha was captured as a slave at the age of 10 and taken away to Brazil in 1840. Joao Esan later got married to Angelica Josephina Da Rocha while in Brazil. The couple gave birth to Candido while still in Brazil.

In 1871, Esan alongside other slaves regained their freedom and a lot of slaves were able to trace their roots back the Yoruba tribe. On his return from Brazil, Esan Da Rocha was one of the returnees that approached the then Queen Victoria’s representative in Lagos to request a place for their resettlement in Lagos and they were apportioned the areas between the Central Bank of Nigeria on Broad Street up to Kam Salem, at Obalende.

The Water House was built by Esan Da Rocha on the land apportioned to him. He was given two portions of land because he came back with his wife of Nigerian origin and four children so he also got a portion of land on Tinubu Street. While building his own house, Esan built it as a replica of the house he lived in Brazil.

His houses are the famous Water House at Kakawa Street and the other one is on 4, Tinubu Street both on Lagos Island. Esan died at the age of 88 and was buried at Ikoyi Cemetery.

Candido da Rocha stepped into his father’s business empire, which he later expanded and consolidated into a multi-million pound financial empire, straddling agriculture, hotel, trading, real estate, banking and financial investment.

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Meet Nigeria’s first millionaire Candido Da Rocha who sent his clothes to Britain for laundry

MARRIED IN SCHOOL BUT SINGLE.

MARRIED IN SCHOOL BUT SINGLE AT HOME. Pls share with teens, youth and Group Chats that care to read and be Enlightened.

Welcome to Nigerian campuses where little girls are practising 'wifely functions'!

Just visit the boys' hostels and you would be disappointed to find out that it is now common for a girl to live in with a course mate. It is now common for her lover to give her the popular compliment 'you look sexy my gal' and she would gladly reply 'thank you honey' with a flirty voice and a romantic smile.

Who is her lover?
A 300 level student whose CGPA is barely up to 1.78! And they are aiming for the next best couple award for the session by the departmental association. So, the girl need to live in with him to prepare along.
What nonsense! It seems that some girls
suddenly loose their senses immediately they
gain admission. I've seen that some of them
have no more sense of caution, honour and
dignity.

They would change their wardrobes and acquire a new set of make ups just to look
'campussy' and sexy enough for the guys. In
months, they would start sleeping around with
little boys. I mean boys who collect pocket
money from their uncles! Dirty boys who most
of the time are infected with sexually
transmitted diseases.

 Hey! I want you to know
that you were sent to school to obtain a degree
not a disease. The campus is called a school;
school not sex! You are on campus to receive
education not ejaculation. You are here to
master the use of a pen not the pleasures of a
penis. Wake up girl! Do some thinking. Your
future is greater than the 'best couple award'.

You cook for a boy you are more intelligent than.
You give your virginity to a boy who will
definitely leave you after graduation. You play
wife to a boy who cannot even care for himself.

Oh, you have given too much. Enough! Open
your eyes! Can't you see you're being foolish?
You are passing through the fears of unwanted
pregnancies yet you are opening your legs to a
coward who cannot stand before your father.

And when you eventually gets pregnant, he
would brutally advise you to abort it and you
would timidly agree; then face the consequences later. What a shame! You may master the use of condoms but you can't master the punishment of your conscience.

Don't you know you are bringing shame to your
family? Don't you know that you are cursing your mother by accepting to sleep with a boy (not even a man) without her consent?

I cautioned a girl against sleeping around and she replied 'Raplann, I don't sleep around; its only one boyfriend I have and am faithful to him'. What impunity! That's classified harlotry. And don't you know that sleeping with a man without your father's blessings is bringing a curse to your future?

What happened to your cultural values?
Somewhere in your heart you know he would
use you and dump you; so why are you setting
up yourself for a heartbreak? I want to remind
you that you are a lady and one day you may get married. And your husband would know that you are such a dirty bitch who sleeps with
anything on trousers.

 The greatest gift a lady
would give to her husband on the wedding night is her virginity less lost it out of (rape) not the certificate of best couple of the year on campus!
The other gifts for the rest of her life are her
care and character not her curves and
complexion! Real men know this; so, get it
screwed in!

Those treacherous boys would call you 'sexy'
and you would answer? Oh, sorry! They touch
your breast and you would smile? They would
ask you out and you would oblige? Oh, you are
indeed a mistake. Am not saying that you should be rude or never live a 'social life' but I want you to think deeper than you are currently doing. I want to turn your attention back to your books.

You are not in school for breast exhibition. So,
pay less attention to those boobs and give more attention to your books! You are not in school for cat walking show. You are rather here to show us the dignity of womanhood. You are here to prove to us that you are costly. So, why make yourself so cheap?

I am writing this with both love and pain in my
heart and that's why am sounding stern. I know
about two girls now that have been living with
their boyfriend since year one and as it is now
they can't even even count how many abortions
they had for that same boy at sch bae it's now like a normal thing to them, the last one she did
almost took her life and that made her bleed for
4months, imagine how you do feel with ordinary 4 days of menstruation left alone living with it for months.. As a matter of fact one of them have damaged her fallopian tube due to excessive use of contraceptives she has taken to prevent pregnancy. I want you to look beyond now and think of what advise you would give your own daughter when you become a mother. I hope I have not offended you...if I have, please repent.

To the decent girls I have seen on campus: do
not be swayed by these evil. Be consistent and
keep celebrating your purity. I am always proud
of you. And God is more proud of you.

 Please
 this message with all our youths and our teens.
Thanks. Pls share with teens, youth and Group Chats that care to[truncated by WhatsApp]

Make your own purse!

Wake up the youth

Prof. Wole Soyinka says :

'WHERE DID WE GO WRONG?

WAKE UP NIGERIAN YOUTHS!'~~~

"Awolowo was 37 years,
Akintola 36,
Ahmadu Bello 36,
Balewa 34,
Okotie-Eboh 27
and Enahoro 27

And they led the struggle for Nigeria Independence after
the death of Macaulay. Only Zik was 42 at the time!

In 1966, the first military coup was led by K
Nzeogwu who was 29 years and countered by

M.Mohammed 28,
T. Danjuma 28,
I. Babangida 25,
J. Garba 23,
Sani Abacha 23,
and M. Yar'adua 23,

And brought into power

Y. Gowon 32,
Ojukwu 33,
Obasanjo 29,
And Buhari 24!

Most of the military governors who governed the states under the successive military regimes were under 30 years.

Also, the brief democratic dispensation which interjected the military interregnums also saw some Senators and members of the House of
Representatives, in particular, populated by persons under 30!

Under 30's were also not in short supply with
appointments - we have examples of

MT Mbu who became Nigeria's Foreign Affairs Minister at 23 and Pat Utomi who became a Federal Adviser at 27

And so on and so forth!

NOW: Why is it that almost all this age bracket is today still sleeping in 3-seater chairs in their
parents’ homes?

Why is it that this age bracket is today still
collecting pocket money from their parents?

Why is it that this age bracket is today still writing JAMB?

Why is it that this age bracket today still 'sagg' their trousers?

Why is it that this age bracket is today still
searching for jobs and not yet married?

Why is it that this age bracket is today no longer qualified to even be leaders of youth wings of political parties?

Why is it that this age bracket is today so docile?

Why is this age bracket today incapable of feeding itself?

Why is it that this age bracket is today barred from even aspiring to certain political offices?

Why is it that this age bracket is today incapacitated, unwilling, unable and incapable of asking questions?

GOD BLESS NIGERIA!"

From Prof Wole Soyinka.

This is real Food for Thought!

Wake up the youth

Prof. Wole Soyinka says :

'WHERE DID WE GO WRONG?

WAKE UP NIGERIAN YOUTHS!'~~~

"Awolowo was 37 years,
Akintola 36,
Ahmadu Bello 36,
Balewa 34,
Okotie-Eboh 27
and Enahoro 27

And they led the struggle for Nigeria Independence after
the death of Macaulay. Only Zik was 42 at the time!

In 1966, the first military coup was led by K
Nzeogwu who was 29 years and countered by

M.Mohammed 28,
T. Danjuma 28,
I. Babangida 25,
J. Garba 23,
Sani Abacha 23,
and M. Yar'adua 23,

And brought into power

Y. Gowon 32,
Ojukwu 33,
Obasanjo 29,
And Buhari 24!

Most of the military governors who governed the states under the successive military regimes were under 30 years.

Also, the brief democratic dispensation which interjected the military interregnums also saw some Senators and members of the House of
Representatives, in particular, populated by persons under 30!

Under 30's were also not in short supply with
appointments - we have examples of

MT Mbu who became Nigeria's Foreign Affairs Minister at 23 and Pat Utomi who became a Federal Adviser at 27

And so on and so forth!

NOW: Why is it that almost all this age bracket is today still sleeping in 3-seater chairs in their
parents’ homes?

Why is it that this age bracket is today still
collecting pocket money from their parents?

Why is it that this age bracket is today still writing JAMB?

Why is it that this age bracket today still 'sagg' their trousers?

Why is it that this age bracket is today still
searching for jobs and not yet married?

Why is it that this age bracket is today no longer qualified to even be leaders of youth wings of political parties?

Why is it that this age bracket is today so docile?

Why is this age bracket today incapable of feeding itself?

Why is it that this age bracket is today barred from even aspiring to certain political offices?

Why is it that this age bracket is today incapacitated, unwilling, unable and incapable of asking questions?

GOD BLESS NIGERIA!"

From Prof Wole Soyinka.

This is real Food for Thought!