The way in which the high and mighty in Nigeria were weeping during the nights of tribute for Dr. Herbert Wigwe, who, at the time of his demise, was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Access Holdings, is reminiscent of how North Koreans openly wept when their leader Kim Jong-il passed away in 2011 and when his son, who took over from him as leader, Kim Jong Un, was ill, in 2020 having been infected by Covid-19.

The difference is that, unlike the fake tears that North Koreans are coerced into shedding by their hermit and oppressive rulers in the autocratic country that is in autarky, those weeping over the untimely passage of energetic Herbert Wigwe, his lovely wife Chizoba, and his dynamic first son, Chizi, in a horrific helicopter crash in the United States of America, USA, genuinely cried owing to their deep love for the Wigwes who lost their lives in the aviation tragedy that occurred on February 9.

In the course of the two (2) nights of tributes in Lagos on Monday 4th and Wednesday 6th, it was awe-inspiring to behold the richest man in Africa, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, and the 14th Emir of Kano, Khalifa Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, sob and cry while narrating their very fond memories of Herbert and the profound impact of his friendship on their businesses and lives.

According to a tearful Alhaji Aliko Dangote, “He was a pillar of support to me and my family.”
As proof that the bond with Herbert will remain indelible in his heart, the emotionally broken Dangote stated: “To immortalize my beloved friend, my brother, and my mentee, I have decided to designate one of the major roads leading to the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Complex after him.”

Khalifa Sanusi Lamido Sanusi also laid it all out in a manner unimagined: “About two years ago, I put all my savings into a trust for the education of my children. I have many, and my priority as a father is to make sure that when I pass away, they will have a good education. I told Herbert, ‘I am placing you in charge of this trust for the education of my children because I know that even if I die and do not leave any money, you will educate my children.’ I thought I would die before Herbert.”

Who could have thought that the ‘Herbie Boy’ who later transformed into ‘Herbie Man’ but remained the self-effacing Herbert that we have always known could be the wind beneath the sail of such ‘A-list’ personages. Of course, Herbert Wigwe’s bosom friend, soul mate, and co-founder of the business empire known as Access Holdings, AigbojeAig-Imoukhuede, also cried while paying his tribute.

But one intentionally highlights the tears shed by Alhaji Dangote and Khalifa Sanusi over the late Herbert Wigwe because, in a country where tribe, tongue, and religion are strong defining factors of friendships and relationships, it is striking that while the Wigwes, who lost their lives, are lkwere from Rivers State and are of the Christian faith, the two highly respected personalities earlier referenced, openly weeping on the podium for Herbert and his wife and son, are from Kano, Fulani by tribe, and Muslims.

To me, such tearing down of barriers of tribe, tongue, and religion between Christian Wigwe and Muslim Dangote and Sanusi indicates that all Nigerians can actually coexist harmoniously irrespective of tribe and religious belief. The reality is that the divisions along religious and tribal fault lines are concoctions of desperate politicians and extremist religionists. They can be likened to the Berlin Wall that divided East and West Germany.

If the Berlin Wall can be brought down, upon the urging of former President of the United States of America, Ronald Reagan, who in 1990 during a visit to Berlin, Germany, toured the Berlin Wall where he famously stated, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”, which is a request directed at then Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev who was fueling and fostering the Cold War between the Eastern Bloc and Western hemispheres of the world, there is no reason that the tribal and religious walls erected to perpetuate the division of Nigeria between north and south, Christian and Muslim that would remain in conflict, cannot be dismantled.

Given the quality of friendship shared between the late Herbert, Dangote, and Sanusi, like the Berlin Wall that had been brought down, the north-south divide in Nigeria, driven by those who have been fanning the embers of religion and tribal rivalry which have stymied national progress, should be eliminated by our generation and in our lifetime, because it has been proven that we all can be religion and tribe-neutral, as demonstrated and proven by the trio of Herbert, Dangote, and Sanusi.

Beyond the fiduciary relationship between the three—Herbert, Dangote, and Sanusi—there was also the kindred spirit that transcends the artificial barriers created by those who have been dividing us as a nation, a misnomer reinforced by our forbears.

Based on the positivity inherent in the attitude of Herbert, Dangote, and Sanusi in neutralizing their differences in tribe and creed to foster strong bonds, there should be more of such cross-cultural affinities reinforcing the truth that we are better together and we all, as Nigerians, share one destiny—as in one nation, one destiny!

In my reckoning, it is quite phenomenal that Herbert Wigwe, at a relatively tender age of 57 without occupying any public office as governor or president, was able to touch the lives of the richest man in Africa, an ex-governor of CBN, and the 14th emir of one of the foremost cities in Nigeria, Kano, amongst other high and mighty and lowly and downtrodden Nigerians, and indeed the world where the behemoth Access Holdings has spread its tentacles.

My striking up a friendship with Herbert was easy, partly because his father, Pastor ShyngleWigwe, was the Director General (DG) of Nigerian Television (NTA), where I worked as a news correspondent. As Herbert rapidly climbed the ranks at GTBank, his vibrant but highly driven and competitive nature kept him busy. He relocated to a larger home in Victoria Island, Lagos, where other top executives of GTBank resided, and pursued further education in England.

Upon his return, ‘Herbie Boy’, the quintessential banker whom I am yet to fully grasp the reality that he is no longer with us, transformed into ‘Herbie Man’. This transformation mirrored the leaps Singapore made from third to first world, as chronicled in the famous tome titled “From Third To First World”, authored by the iconic leader of Singapore, the late Lee Kuan Yew.

Although he did not lead a country or even a state, Herbert was larger than life. As his fortune grew, he commensurately grew in stature, influence, and philanthropy, as attested to by those who have paid tributes to him, ranging from those in the top echelon of government, presently and in the past, all the way from the 40th President of the US, Mr. Bill Clinton, to the ex-President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.

Serving presidents that have eulogized Herbert Wigwe include President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria and Vice President KashimShettima. From foreign countries are Mr. Nana Akufo-Ado, President of Ghana, Mr. Cyril Rhamaphosa, President of South Africa, and Emmanuel Macron, President of France, to mention a few for lack of space. Herbert succeeded his business partner, Mr. Aig-Imuokuede, as the Group Managing Director (GMD) of Access Bank PLC since 2014.

After transforming Access Bank PLC into Access Holdings, as evidenced by his establishment of the bank’s branches not just all over Nigeria, and Africa, but all over the world including Europe, the Middle East, and Far East Asia, in the manner that Leonardo Da Vinci might have envisioned his painting canvas before he painted the iconic Mona Lisa piece of artwork; Herbert poured all his extraordinary energy into setting up Wigwe University in his village, Isiokpo, in Rivers State.

It is a reflection of the vibrancy and boundless energy of Herbert that Wigwe University, which was yet to take off before his unfortunate demise, had become the reference point for setting up a world-class university in Nigeria. This initiative aims to help stem the financial hemorrhage that our country suffers due to the outflow of funds into institutions of higher learning, not only in Europe and North America but even to neighboring countries like Ghana and the Republic of Benin, where English language is not the lingua franca.

The culprit for the exodus of our wards to higher institutions abroad is the incessant strike actions often embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which kept students out of school for very long periods of time.

Remarkably, Wigwe University is not the first to be set up by a banker. There is the one founded by Mr Adedeji Adeleke, part owner of the defunct Pacific Merchant Bank. The university is named Adeleke University and it is located in Ede,Osun state. Prior to that, there is also the top-class school established by the late Mr. Oladele Olasore, an ex MD/CEO of First Bank, named Olasore International School. Mr. Jim Ovia, the founder/chairman of Zenith Bank, has also floated James Hope University located in Agbor, Delta State.

Additionally, Wigwe University is also not the first world-class university to be established in Nigeria with a similar vision to encourage our youths to pursue education domestically. Previously, there have been Bell University in Otta, Ogun State, owned by former President Obasanjo, and the American International University in Yola, founded by former Vice President Abubakar Atiku.However, Wigwe University is the first to be explicitly branded as having been established to address the identified challenge of capital flight from Nigeria owing to the huge volume of hard  currencies  which our youths that seek education abroad pay in school fees out there, consequently draining our treasury and contributing to brain drain.

My fervent prayer is that the souls of the departed Herbert, Chizoba, and ChiziWigwe rest in the bosom of their creator.

• Magnus Onyibe, an entrepreneur, public policy analyst, author, democracy advocate, development strategist, alumnus of Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, Massachusetts, USA, and a former commissioner in Delta State government, sent this piece from Lagos, Nigeria.