These were the five Nigerian super-rich men who were the talk of town during the independence era

Candido Da Rocha (1860 – 1959)

Candido Da Rocha was the son of Joao Esan Da Rocha— a returnee slave from Brazil. He was born in 1860 in Brazil.

At age 25, Candido filed from the control of his father’s estates after his death on December 31, 1891. He expanded his father’s business after assuming control of it into a huge empire, according to reports.

RELATED STORIES

The original composer of Disney's "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" song was a Zulu man who died penniless

Delayed by two years due to pregnancy, this is why Queen Elizabeth II defied bomb threats and visited Ghana to save the Commonwealth

Did you know that former Zimbabwean president Canaan Banana passed a law to ban jokes about his name?

When lady luck refuses to smile, these NBA stars failed to win a championship during their career

Candido ventured into the water business, serving 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 and that his house had the first borehole and also the first water fountain. 

Candido made loads of fortune from the water business. However, his first ‘real’ breakthrough came in 1894 when a British gold prospector sold him gold bars for the sum of £6,000. Not having money, he approached First Bank, then the Bank of West Africa for loan which he got to purchase the gold bars.

Candido was said to be so rich that he sent his dirty clothing to Britain for laundry.