Onumba.com —– Cosmas Maduka and Pascal Okechukwu, aka, Cubana Chief Priest, share a few things in common ———- they are both accomplished businessmen. They are both filthy rich. And they are Igbos.
But they are not friends.
The two famed business honchos recently had a viral falling out over the popular Nigerian pidgin English metaphor ‘Money na water.’ In plain English language, it translates to ‘there’s plenty of money’ or ‘money flows similar to water.’
The beef erupted after Okechukwu uttered the slang at a shindig and thought nothing of it. That’s right up his alley, so it makes sense. He is always a jolly, big dude who often revels in fun-drenched bombastic rodomont. But for some reason, this one rubbed Maduka the wrong way. Always brash and vociferous, he wigged out, rebuking the young fella for using the wealth flaunting parlance.
As you might have guessed, that set off an ego fueled kerfuffle. But why get worked up over such triviality?
Well ———- perhaps, triviality is in the eyes of the beholder.
The tiff could easily be summed up as a generational clash over the acceptable public decorum for folks with plenty of dosh. Maduka, an Anambra native, is 67 while Okechukwu, from Imo state, is 44.
But beyond the context of this feud, it raises broader questions over whether it’s OK for rich folks to flaunt their money in the public? And then whether ‘spraying money’ is tantamount to flaunting it?
It nicely tees up an interesting debate.
For Okechukwu, a hospitality guru and owner of a plethora of topnotch establishments, the answer is yes. Known for his extreme flamboyant lifestyle complete with an unapologetic knack for chucking gobs of dough in the air at events, he defended the use of the lingo ‘Money na water’ as a means to bring visibility to his sprawling brand while expressing confidence in his ability to make money.
He also argued that the digital economy calls for crafty social media presence and attention grabbing histrionics as a growth strategy. He dismissed Maduka as an antediluvian dude stuck in the analog eon.
But Maduka, founder and CEO of Coscharis Group utterly disagrees, characterizing Okechukwu’s behavior as a classic wombat ——- waste of money brain and time —— fraught with juvenile recklessness.
He decries the orutund and showy norms of the younger generation as sheer hauteur, misguided harum-scarum and poor wealth management, all feeding off of youthful exuberance and hasty proclamation of success. The Nnewi business titan slams the arrogant display of wealth, irresponsible spending and money spraying at gatherings.
Even more, Maduka stated that he often takes a pass on events where money tossing is part of the ceremony. “I never dash people money in public,” he said. “I work hard for my money and I don’t throw it around.”
But while Maduka is fiercely opposed to ‘spraying money,’ could that be viewed as engaging in cultural iconoclasm? Some would say ‘yes.’ ‘Tossing money’ in the air (Ibo ego in Igbo language) is a deep-rooted tradition commonly practiced by all the ethnic groups in Nigeria. However, the government has banned the practice even though people still indulge in it.
Maduka, a widowed father of five, grew up extremely impoverished ———- the kind characterized by suffocating hopelessness and success was measured by mere ability to see another day. But at age 17, he started swinging at it after establishing his own business, poured his heart and soul into it and eventually pulled himself out of financial doldrums.
Now, dude owns a sprawling, diversified business empire with tentacles in brand name luxury auto sales and service, agriculture and agro-allied business, manufacturing, petrochemical, auto care and others.
Fast forward to today.
The dust-up had fizzled out and was in the rear view mirror, but lo and behold, Okechukwu, perhaps true to his bloated appetite for attention, fired off a fresh salvo.
Recently, out of nowhere, he unleashed a frosty jab at Maduka ———- gibing and downplaying his accomplishments for not belonging to the pantheon of billionaires such as the Dangotes, the Elumelus, the Adenugas and the Otedolas.
But as with other barbs, Maduka was not flustered by this pillory, either. If anything, he embraced it. The gripping saga of the challenges he faced during the embryonic chapter of his ventures offer a treasure trove of inspiration. It is a story he proudly shares from the rooftop.
It goes without saying, Maduka soaked up Okechukwu’s disparaging remarks gleefully, even patted himself on the back for leaping from being a poverty-stricken “street boy” with only a third grade education to owning and managing a vast business conglomerate with global reach.
Now that I got your attention: I am still flabbergasted by the decision of Ghanaian leaders to name the Accra international airport after coup plotter Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka and not pan African luminary and father of Ghanaian nationalism the late great Kwame Nkrumah. It is befuddling, to say the very least. It makes absolutely no sense.
