Reno Omokri, a former media aide to then-President Goodluck Jonathan, has narrated how an encounter with a Nigerian professor of political economy and politician, Pat Utomi, made him become a “dollar millionaire” in his 30s.
Mr Omokri shared his story via a video he posted on Facebook on Thursday, 23 January.
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He said it all started when he saw Mr Utomi’s error-filled Facebook post in 2007 and decided to mail him about the post.
He said because he had included his phone number in the mail, he received a surprise call from Mr Utomi who admitted that he made the errors because he was angry with someone while typing the Facebook post.
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Mr Omokri said he was living in California, in the US, earning slightly over $75,000, while Mr Utomi was in Nigeria.
“I was really taken aback (by Utomi’s call), my wife was sleeping by my side,” Mr Omokri said.
“I introduced myself, and I said to him, the way you have been going on, on Facebook, I suspect you might consider running for president (of Nigeria), and he said, ‘I have played with the idea’. And I said I could help you. And he said put together a plan, put together a cost.
“And so I, along with a friend, put together a proposal and sent it to him. We asked for $12,500 every month, which was basically going to come to me; my friend was just helping me.
“This man (Utomi) called me the same day and said, ‘This is a good proposal. I like it. Can I have account details?’
“I thought he was just going to send the first $12,500; he sent $25,000, and then he told me, ‘Subsequently, I’ll pay you N$25,000 every two months’.
“At that point in time, I had never received money like that in one go. And so I started helping him out, putting together packages for him. I was helping him out on social media to raise an army that could help him if he decides to run for president. And that is how things went.”
Meanwhile, Mr Omokri said he had never met Mr Utomi before this encounter.
Encountered with el-Rufai, Jonathan
Mr Omokri narrated how he also encountered Nasir el-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna State, through a similar approach.
“Nasir el-Rufia is one of the most intelligent persons I have ever met. The only issue with him is that his intelligence is governed by ego. Another person I have met with that same level of intelligence is the current National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.
“The difference between them is that Malam Nuhu Ribadu’s intelligence is governed by conscience,” he said.
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Mr Omokri said because of his success story with Mr Utomi, he was contacted to help Mr Jonathan, who was then Nigeria’s acting president and was preparing to run for the presidency.
“I promised them that in under six months, I can give him (Jonathan) one million followers on Facebook,” Mr Omokri said. “At that time, it was almost impossible.”
He said he had asked Jonathan’s people for $30,000 and that they paid him $50,000 instead, besides some monthly fees.
“Within three months, I delivered one million followers. It was unheard of all over the world.
“The president was very, very happy; his aide that got to me was so happy. And they gave me a bonus.”
‘Financially free for the rest of my life’
Mr Omokri said he bought a house and a car and then invested some of the money. “The house now is worth $1million, I bought it way back 2009.”
He said, “It was that money that enabled me to become financially free for the rest of my life. I am still living off that money till today.
“The thing is, if it hadn’t been Pat Utomi, just sending him that cold email, none of these would have happened. Yes, eventually, I was invited to join Jonathan’s administration as one of the spokesmen.”
Continuing, Mr Omokri said, “So, Mr Utomi, if you are watching this, thank you very much.”
Mr Omokri advised young Nigerians to be inspired by his story.
“A lot of people that you think you cannot get through, they are on social media. Send them an email. Don’t tell them I need this from you; tell them what you can do for them.”
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