Rivers On Path To Greatness – Wigwe

The Rivers State Governor, Rt Hon Chibuike Amaechi has a paramount concern for his development strides, which is the sustainability of his programmes and policies.

The Governor had at different fora emphasised this, and as a follow-up created agencies and funds to manage the various infrastructure and projects of Government from caving into decay.

One of such bodies is the Social Welfare Trust Fund, which is expected to manage the various infrastructure and projects of government for maximum impact on the beneficiaries. At the head of the Board of the Trust Fund is Pastor Shyngle Wigwe, an elder statesman and minister of God.

By his new appointment, the Redeemed Christian Church of God pastor and former Director-General of Nigeria Television Authority, NTA, is back in public glare and he appears undaunted in the challenges ahead.

Realising the fact that the Rivers State social welfare contributory law, courted controversy in the state over diverse public views and interpretations, the elder statesman owns up that he is saddled with a lot of responsibilities mostly to stimulate public confidence and support, and to ensure the sustenance and success of the scheme.

He therefore embraces his new assignment with passion as, according to him, it aligns with his true calling in life, which is “putting smiles on the faces of people”.

In carrying out his new assignment as the chairman of the Social Welfare Trust Fund, Pastor Wigwe, who shared his views with The Tide in an interview in Port Harcourt recently, is highly optimistic of achieving its objectives.

But he said this was achievable on one condition; “if only the residents and people of Rivers State give their massive support to the Rivers State Government by embracing the various projects of government with a sense of ownership and responsibilities”.

By his development policies, Pastor Wigwe believes that the Rivers State Governor had bridged the gap between different facets of the society, as the less privileged can now access qualitative education, good medicare and other amenities, which were exclusive privileges of the well to do.

His words: “With the quality of schools and hospitals I have seen, I believe that Rivers State is truly on the path to greatness. This is the time we are truly building a state, this is the time to shed light into the minds of our people and bring them out of ignorance, it is important that we join hands together to bring Rivers State to its rightful position”. Pastor Wigwe recalled that Rivers State in the past was not rated among the most educationally advanced states in Nigeria, as it was considered educationally disadvantaged.

But he sees such gloomy posture paving way for an unfettered transformation in the Rivers State education sector. Thanks to the education policies of Governor Amaechi, and other projects executed to make life more meaningful for the people of the state, he applauded.

To him the even distribution of essential services like education, health, among others, to all strata of the citizenry is an indication that the Rivers State Government is responsive to its constitutional and moral obligations to the state.

Pastor Wigwe will want the Rivers State Government to sustain its efforts in educational development as he believes strongly that; “The only thing that can impact on the lives of the people is education”.

He said; “Schools built in the remote areas of the state will impact on the lives of children in rural areas just like children in the township, and with equal opportunities for all Rivers children there is a great prospect of educational development and economic growth in the state”.

On the maintenance of the facilities, Pastor Wigwe said the Trust Fund will adopt a “holistic approach. Students will be taught to take care of their environment, it will be part of their daily activities. The school management are also expected to make good provision for the maintenance of these facilities. This will be applicable to all other public utilities and amenities. We will embark on sensitization campaigns to educate the people on the need to imbibe a good maintenance culture, the future of Rivers State truly depends on maximal utilization of the projects, we will also ensure that the right capacity for the management of the facilities are provided”.

At 77, Pastor Wigwe bubbles with youthful carriage and immense intellect. His pedigree of integrity and depth of human service is believed to have advanced his choice for the welfarish job, as he distanced his appointment from politics. But The Tide sought to know if he was not gambling with his long standing reputation.

“My appointment is not politically motivated, and as long as my name is attached to this, I will do my best to serve Rivers people with all honesty. I want to feel also that the Governor had chosen people in whom he had confidence and trust to deliver, that are Rivers people. It is a moral obligation for us to succeed as nothing can be more worthwhile than serving your people”.

Pastor Wigwe who retired from active public service as the Director General of Nigeria Television Authority, (NTA) drew comparison with his recent appointment.

“They are all in the same line, but at the national level, politics is involved and you are not able to quantify the impact as you can do here. This one has to do with bettering the lives of people, ensuring that the less-privileged receive good education, it has to do with social engineering, in this type of job, I will like to get a data base so as time goes on, I will like to see what I have done to impact on the lives of Rivers people”.

The interview also veered into the private life of the renowned Minister of God. Commenting on his childhood, here called with nostalgia an upbringing of discipline and contentment.

“I attended St Peters Isiokpo, I also went to Okrika Grammar School without shoes. In our days teachers made sacrifice, they called us to come for continuation classes, we paid nothing for it. Values were sacrosanct, people were contented, people did not really bother about what others got or did not have, we live a fulfilled life”.

He added that; “Today we look for people who have made money, not minding the source, people who have gone to prison now come out and they still talk, those days people went to prison and that shut them out completely, even to go and pick a wife from that compound was an abomination, the society was okay” Pastor Wigwe also spoke about his career.

“After my school certificate, I started working in the Nigerian Broadcasting Service, until when the expatriates were leaving towards independence and the institution became Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation. I was sent to the British Broadcasting Corporation, (BBC) for training. After that I got my graduateship of the Institute of Electrical Engineering. At the BBC training school, he said students from developing countries on induction were advised to work hard as standards will not be compromised, because they would defend the certificates obtained from the school.

Pastor Wigwe was a pioneer staff of the Rivers State Television which was later taken over by the Federal Government. According to him, there was no staff with a pedigree of broadcasting, and so the staff of the Rivers State Television leverage on his experience from the BBC training school, as he tutored them on the principles of electrical engineering and other broadcast-related courses.

The elder statesman also served in the Nigerian Army. He said he enrolled in the Army as an electrical mechanical corp., but left the army after the civil war and declined an offer of rein-statement.

Taneh Beemene