My brother Salawudeen Oridara Idowu requested I get the story of this man on my return back to the e-world few days back. I promised to, and here it is.
Incidentally, as A kid I lived very close to Darocha's family house at Moloney where my extended family also had property. We do go there often to play and buy stuffs. Later as a teenager I discovered his beautiful house at Kakawa. Magnificent till date (see photos below).
Candido was born in Bahia, Northern Brazil on the 3rd of October, 1866. As a young boy of seven years when he arrived Lagos in 1873, Candido could only speak Portuguese and Ijesha – dialect of Yoruba. It is not known whether he attended any school in Brazil before he arrived Lagos. At age 7 , Candido could only speak Portuguese and Ijesha – dialect of Yoruba. A native of ilesha,was born into the family of Joao Esan Da Rocha.His fatherJoao was abducted in 1850 and sold into slavery at age 10 in Slavador Bahia Brazil.
Academics, for Candido da Rocha was a must because he was very brilliant. He began his education with enrollment at the Saint Xavier Catholic Primary School presently known as Holy Cross Catholic Primary School on Catholic Mission School on Catholic Mission Street, Lagos Island. He had his secondary school education at the popular CMS Grammar School, Bariga, Lagos.
He, according to records available was never beaten and always came first in his class. At the time he was leaving CMS, he became the school’s Head Boy. His classmates at the school were the late Bishop Oluwole, late Herbert Macaulay, and S. H. Pearse who once owned the old Elephant House on Board Street, It was later pulled down for redevelopment following a fire incident. The building is now owned by the Shonibare family. Another account however gave a contrary view concerning his intellectual endowment.
According to this account, Candido da Rocha made no pretension to intellectual pursuit in his early days. In his last days, however, it was stated that he was a voracious reader of newspapers and magazines. It was also claimed that he had a good stock of books in his library, where classical English books.
HOW DA ROCHA MADE HIS MONEY FROM WATER BUSINESS : He constructed the first city water fountain and borehole with imported fittings.This made him more popular as Lagosians were trooping to know more about this and those who could afford such soughted him for a fee.
His love for water business led to the operation of of what was known as Iju water works that was responsible for pumping water to the entire Lagos District. For this, he was paid directly by the colonial administration until government acquired the water project.This project was at the Water House ,Lagos Island.
He lwas reputed to be responsible for laying of pipelines from Iju to Lagos Island ,Yaba ,Ebute-Metta and environs,and constructed boreholes for water distribution in Lagos. It was so successful that it was almost a monopoly ,before government took over from him.but one thing with his water business was, there was water supply everywhere. His house had a borehole too, from where he sells water to Lagosians.
For his water business and love for classic and style, Da' Rocha constructed the first water fountain in Lagos. His diversion into other business areas enlarged his wealth though.
Da Rocha later went into the banking business. Records available to Island News reveals that he was the first African to own a bank called Lagos Native Bank which was established in 1907. He ran the bank himself – he was the founder, sole owner and sole operator and competed with the Bank of West-Africa and probably the old Barclays Dominion, Colonial and Overseas.
He was said to have as part of his properties on the Island, 37 Marina, now site of Unity House and 72 Campbell Street now host to Cappa and D’alberto. There were many others along Broad Street and Customs Street. Some of these include the present site of Shell House and Chanrai. All his properties were given Brazilian names like Perseveranza, Constaranza, Finanza and many more like that.
The present site of the Central Bank on Customs Street originally belonged to Da Rocha. He bought 55 hectares of land in Agege area where he had his hunting ground and built a country home. It was originally a farmland which he bought in 1926 and hired to tenant – farmers. He went there from time to time to recreate away from his “Water House” residence.Da Rocha invested in hotels as early as 1900. At the age of 34 years, he had acquired a property at Tinubu Square in Lagos, near Ilojo Bar, which he turned into a restaurant cum hotel, known as “Restaurant da Rocha’ where, according to a newspaper advertisement.However,Da Rocha's family life was not that a great story,as report has it that he had problems with family life. He lived alone most of his adult life and was never formally married to any woman whether traditionally, in the court or in the church even though he was a strong Catholic.
“He was a very difficult man to live with,” said Dr. Oladele da Rocha – Afodu, his grandson who lived with him from age 12. 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. The da Rocha family is well entrenched in Ghana. 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. The third and last of Da Rocha’s children named Candida died at the age of 96 few years ago. Da Rocha reportedly fell out with his only son, Alexander in 1920. It was not exactly known what led to the estrangement between father and son. Whatever the cause, Da Rocha was said to have been too pained to the extent that he never made up with his son till he died.
Da Rocha owned two houses, one at 4, Tinubu Street, presently the site of Mr. Biggs (UAC) and the other later to become known as “Water House” at Kakawa Street both in Lagos Island. According to Pierre Verger, in his book “Trade Relations between the Bight of Benin and Bahia – 17th to 19th century’ many ‘Brazilians’ were retail traders. Payne’s Lagos and West African Almanac and Diary for 1881, listed the name of Joao Da Rocha as ‘Trader of Kakawa Street. And A.B. Loatan, in his little book, The Torch Bearers or Old Brazilian Colony in Lagos stated that “Senior Joao Esan Rocha (was) a prosperous merchant perhaps the richest of his time…” While his proper native name was ‘Esan’ he was baptized in Brazil as ‘Joao’ (meaning in English John) but his surname ‘Rocha’ was the name of his Portuguese master. He was probably a young man of about 30 years when he returned to Lagos in 1873.
Candido’s mother was ‘Mamae’ Senhora Angelica Josephine Louisa da Rocha, daughter of Papae Ogaga – Martins, whose family compound was at Bamgbose Street, Lagos, Island. She too was also a native of Ilesha, Osun State. Candido lost his mother on May 7, 1885, when he was only 19 years old, while his father died on December 31, 1891, in Lagos, when he was aged 25 years.
Credit: Senator Femi Ojodu/Island news/theyoruba.com
LESSON: You can make it too. Think of what people need but are scarce.
He started investing earlier in life.#Youstartedlavishspendingevenwhenyouhavenothing
Darocha!- water
Dangote-sugar n salt
Rockefeller-kerosene/gasoline
Zuckerberg-Facebook
John momoh-authentic intonation (Channels TV. ) .Lol.
Otunba Ghadafi (late)- Shit business ..serious business
You?- Fill in the gap. #Yesyoucan
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