Popular Nigerian billionaire and real estate business mogul King Mohammed Adah Ochacho, popularly known simply as Ochacho, recently left the internet agog with his goodwill towards one of Nigeria’s most controversial musical artists, Habeeb Okikiola, popularly known as Portable or Dr. Zeh.
Ochacho went against the odds, rewriting preexisting narratives and setting a pace for his contemporaries, when he reportedly gifted the controversial singer a brand new convertible Mercedes Benz worth hundreds of millions of naira and offered to cover the cost for police officers to escort the singer and his new car. This is according to a netizen identified as @Jbrandy_YBNL, who revealed the development via a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday.
The post read, “Just in: Abuja billionaire Ochacho presents Portable with a brand new convertible Mercedes Benz.
“Nah, me and Portable get this year.”
According to reports, the Abuja-based billionaire did not only gift Portable a car but also offered the singer a house in Lagos, asking him to make a choice from any of his houses since he is into real estate.
The gesture by the Abuja-based billionaire and business mogul, who is equally regarded by some as the “giant of the Idoma nation, a tribe in Benue State, Nigeria, has left many in awe over his choice of who to extend such goodwill to. While many ponder his connection with Portable, others opine that the singer has worked hard enough and deserves even more.
In a lengthy Facebook post, a popular music businessman, event planner and music critic from Benue State, where Ochacho hails from, Spitz Owoicho, admonished young artists in the state to work hard and strive to position themselves and their respective brands in the spotlight, as this would enable them to attract both local and international investors and even the likelihood of attracting such gifts of goodwill.
In his post, Spitz, who is also the CEO of NFOB Global Entertainment, an events planning and A&R company, said it is “amazing to hear that an Abuja-based billionaire, OCHACHO, has gifted a Nigerian music star Portable a convertible Benz worth over 100 milli.. plus given him access to one of his estate homes in Lagos to stay.”
While Mr. Spitz noted that the deed was “laudable, almost philanthropic (not quite) and a win win for both of them,” he thinks that Ochacho stands to gain more visibility as a real estate mogul by just associating with the Portable brand, while Portable gets to enjoy the gift of a brand new car even though it is not his first car and would not be the last either. He further discouraged any form of entitlement mentality and wrote:
“Now I don’t know but I’m hoping we won’t start by saying a Benue born billionaire gifted Portable ..🧐 (don’t go there)?.
“When that starts and as we are used to tagging we now start raising brows and more … that we are here.. and making music and more and never benefit from him same way.
“Question: What visibility can your brand offer him?”
Upon raising these thought-provoking questions, the music critic went on to list what he describes as “true facts” in the face of probable misconceptions that might arise amongst young artists in the state. He wrote:
“Truth facts: We (you) are not Portable. You don’t carry your story as he carries his original story and puts it out there. We (you) duplicate the lives others live failing to stick to your originality and as such miss your greatness along the way. We (you) aren’t out there enough making name, fame and selling out tabloids.. he is! We (you) don’t have enough media spotlight on what you do even if you can or is doing what’s almost 100% right to matter in the media. We (you) rather stay in comfortable spaces than risk the big stage and so…. We (you) make music with expectations.. We (you) sell just the music .. what happens to your stories (saga)?
“OCHACHO didn’t do this with sentiments .. he focused on the brand .. be it Yoruba, Hausa, Ibo, TIV, Idoma.. etc . what does this say?
“Work! Just work and stop looking round or expecting validation. When it comes you won’t see it and hey, it might just come from another billionaire from some other part of Nigeria.
“I just know we need to lay basic foundations for the average artiste to succeed and this will come from understanding how to sell you and your brand.”
He also highlighted some of the challenges often faced in the entertainment industry, especially in Benue and recommended some subtle ways of changing the narrative. He wrote:
“Another challenging factor is the role the media plays with the music industry in these parts. We almost were like an oasis just making music and selling to we alone. Trust me.. even the bloggers here will sell better more and gain more traffic from amazing stories you create!
“So for anyone whose deep in thoughts about this, get your priorities right before you feed your mind and heart with so much information that’s not as complicated as what’s out there.”
The Benue Valley is credited with having a pool of talents in music and several other creative endeavours such as acting, painting and even music production.
Tuface Idibia, one of Nigeria’s living music legends who paved the way for the heights the Nigerian music industry has achieved, also hails from Benue alongside Magnito, Terry G and a host of others.
Just like the legendary Fela Kuti, Tuface is a younger icon in the music sphere in Nigeria and beyond.
In spite of these, Portable, the beneficiary, took to social media to celebrate the new gift. In the video that quickly went viral last weekend, Dr. Zeh was seen prostrating for the businessman, showering him with praise and thanks for his ‘kindness.’
