Final week for Wigwe, the daring banker

For Dr Herbert Wigwe, the late courageous banker who saw Access Bank, an institution that prides itself as the biggest Nigerian financial institution through thick and thin, this is the week.

And the week marking his final departure has started in a grand but emotional way. Previously, condolences and tributes had poured from across the globe, validating Wigwe’s larger-than-life personality.

But on Monday night, his friends – industrialists, bankers, politicians and many more – gathered from across the world in a physical space to fare him goodbye.

His photographs adorned every space in Eko Hotels and Suites but Wigwe could only, perhaps, hear from a far distance the accolades poured on him in celebration of his life as a philanthropist, nation builder and banker.

From Alike Dangote of Dangote Group; the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina; Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; his Ogun counterpart, Dapo Abiodun; Minister of Finance, wale Edun to the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Yemi Cardoso as well Emmanuel Macron of France and former United States President, Bill Clinton, who shared their tributes virtually, Wigwe was a unique individual to everybody.

But the message had something in common – he lived less than six decades whereas success story would transcend generations. Dangote, who named the “biggest road” in his refinery after Wigwe, recalled that the late banker was a major supporter of the project and contributed in no small measure to bring the project to reality.

“To immortalise my beloved friend, my brother and mentee, I’ve actually decided to name our major refinery and petrochemical road out of the 120km road, the biggest road will now be named Herbert Wigwe,” Dangote said.

Dangote described Wigwe as a pillar of strength to him and his business empire, saying he was a loyal friend, a role model, a brother and his mentee. His professional practice as a banker, he said, broke all records and shifted boundaries.

On what made the banker such a success, the industrialist recalled, “he was fearless and never scared of anything” with a rare power of total concentration.

Both Sanwo-Olu and Abiodun attributed their success in their respective states partly to Wigwe who they described as a detribalised Nigerian. The politicians narrated how the deceased had gone the extra mile, sacrificing personal benefits, to sustain their friendship of over three decades before his untimely death.

Sanwo, who described the banker as a Lagos Island boy, promised that the state would do something to importalise him right in the Lagos Island where he was born.

According to Cardoso and Edun, Wigwe was unusually committed to contributing to efforts to address the economic challenges facing the country. Cardoso disclosed that he visited twice since his appointment to discuss what he could do to support efforts to stabilise the economy.

“He dedicated himself to excellence and service… He played a key role in transforming Access Bank into a foremost financial institution in Nigeria,” Cardoso noted.

Adesina, who went spiritual, said Wigwe’s life and the institution he built were bankable. But above all, he argued, he was a better banker in heaven and served God selflessly.

The funeral rites started with the Monday event tagged ‘Celebrating Professional Excellence’

A combined service of songs will be held on March 7 at the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Resurrection Parish, Lekki, followed by a Christian wake-keeping at Wigwe University, Isiokpo, Ikwerre LGA, Rivers State. Funeral and private interment services are scheduled for March 9.

The funeral programme will end with an outing service at RCCG, Lion of Judah Parish, Isiokpo, Ikwerre LGA, on March 10.

He will be laid to rest exactly a month after he, his wife, Doreen and son, Chizi, died in a helicopter crash that occurred near the border of California and Nevada in the United States. Also in the helicopter was a former Group Chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group, Abimbola Ogunbanjo.