Many media houses have made it a policy to identify Ugwumba Uche Nwosu with no other tag but ‘in-law’ or ‘son-in-law’ to Governor Rochas Okorocha. This seems to have become an agreement among majority of the media houses in Nigeria. And the way they go about, someone may begin to think that in our culture or even our religion, being an in-law is a taboo or maybe, derogatory. Some people may have been led to think that a son-in-law is supposed to sell his rights to personal aspirations, especially, if his own father-in-law had attained such heights.
Uche Nwosu’s life did not begin from that point when he walked Uloma Rochas down the aisle. Nwosu, the son of a poor man, had reasonably broken even in life before he took Uloma’s hands in marriage. He met Rochas about twenty years ago in Owerri, using his platform as a students’ union activist. He was attracted to Owelle Rochas Okorocha, not because of any family affiliations, but as a result of his intelligence and creativity. Owelle retained him as a staff. Within that period, Uche Nwosu earned the trust of not just his boss, but those of members of the family, especially, the Madam of the House, Nneoma Nkechi Okorocha. The young man’s unpretentious humility, honesty, kindness, loyalty and intelligence earned him a place, not just in the heart of his boss, but among other staff of the Rochas Group. He was the envy of all the other staff and even members of the Okorocha family. Uche Nwosu formally took Uloma in marriage when he was a Commissioner for Lands, Survey and Urban Development.
Uche Nwosu
Before then, he had served in different capacities as Special Assistant to the Chairman of Nigerian Aviation Management Agency, was an aide to President Obasanjo’s adviser on inter Party affairs. He also served as National Financial Secretary of the Action Alliance, a very promising political Party at the time. He was Director of Finance on the Rochas Presidential Campaign team, gaining huge experiences in public administration, Party politics and governance. He was a real estate practitioner, a very intelligent entrepreneur who had availed himself of training opportunities in different highly rated workshops and seminars. He had been involved in international business negotiations in the agricultural and aviation sectors.
As Special Assistant to Owelle Rochas Okorocha, he played supervisory roles in the Rochas Group which has interests in the aviation sector, real estate, automobile industry, pharmaceuticals and general contracting. He was also involved in the Rochas Foundation, an NGO that runs the flagship Rochas Foundation Colleges, which has now extended its free education program to children of the poor across 55 African countries.
Like Jacob in the Bible, Uche Nwosu was a diligent servant who got genuinely attracted to the daughter of his boss. If Uche Nwosu was not trusted, if he was an efulefu, Rochas and his wife would not have, for any reason allowed him to marry their first daughter. Remember Laban, Jacob’s father-in-law was a wealthy man whom Jacob, the father of Israel, had to serve for Laban for an additional seven years just to secure the hands of Rachel in marriage.
In the Bible, there are many instances of how a son-in-law is supposed to relate with his in-laws. Also in Igbo tradition, and I should think, in most African traditions, the in-law relationship is vital and respected. A person’s character may also be gauged based on how well he relates with his in-laws. A son-in-law who earns the trust of his in-laws is a good man that can be trusted.
“He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord”. That is according to Proverbs 18:22. It is a thing of joy when a man marries a woman who brings him so much favor from the Lord, and it is only sadists that would have any problems with that. It is of course, no one’s fault if those fixated on another man’s marriage life were not fortunate enough to marry such a beautiful, virtuous and lovely wife as Uche is lucky to be blessed with.
There is more to Uche Nwosu than just being a son-in-law to His Excellency Owelle Rochas Okorocha and that is what we are supposed to be talking about. What are the new things he will be bringing to the table as governor of Imo State? Will he be a chip off the old block or a better brick? How has he handled previous opportunities given to him in government and what benefits do Imolites stand to reap from his administration? These are things that will form the basis of our discourses in the coming days and weeks.
Have a great Sunday!
© ONWUASOANYA FCC JONES
