The Wigwes: Didactics For The Living

On Saturday, March 9, 2024 the remains of Herbert Onyewumbu Wigwe were committed to mother-earth in his home town, Isiokpo, headquarters of Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State. Herbert Wigwe, his wife, Chizoba and son, Chizi died in a helicopter crash near Nipton-California in United States on February 9, 2024.
The week-long beehive of funeral activities began on March 4, 2024 at Eko Hotel in Lagos with presentation of “Professional Legacy of Wigwe”. It was followed by a Night of Tribute at Eko Hotel on March 5; a combined service of songs at Resurrection Parish, Redeemed Christian Church of God, Lekki Lagos on March 7. Friday, March 8 was a Christian Wake at Umueke, Isiokpo which was attended by some dignitaries, including the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 Presidential Election, Peter Obi. The body had earlier arrived at the Palace of the king of Isiokpo Clan and was received with 21 canon shots in each of the ten villages that make up Isiokpo Kingdom.
The demise of the Wigwes at a time least expected is a constant reminder of the brevity of life and that everyone is a sojourner or a pilgrim.
It is certainly not saying a new thing that life is transient and at its very best, life is as brief and evaporative as the vapour. No wonder, the Bible King Solomon said unequivocally, “I made me great works, I builded me houses, I planted me vineyards: I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits. I made me pools of water to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees. I got me servants and maidens, also I had great possession…So I was great and increased more than all that were before me…And whatever my eyes desired I kept not from them. I withheld not my heart from any joy, for my heart rejoiced in all my labour. Then I looked at all the works my hand hath wrought, and the labour that I had labored to do, and behold all was vanity and vexation of Spirit, and there was no profit under the sun…”(Ecclesiastes 2:4-10).
Solomon’s wise saying is timeless, finds expressions daily as people fail to see life as vanity, and a “passing through” according to Jim Reeves (of blessed memory).
Speaking at the well attended funeral service at Lion of Judah Parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God Isiokpo, on Saturday March 9, 2024, the Executive Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalaye Fubara echoed the wise saying of the King Solomon, warning politicians of the emptiness of the inordinate quest for power and promised to sustain the legacy of Wigwe University.
According to a statement signed by Boniface Onyedi, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara “challenged the political class to reflect on the essence of the struggle for power when it is not actually deployed in impacting society positively”.
Sir Fubara pointed to the three corpses of persons who used their time, within the short period they lived to make enormous and impactful contributions to humanity.
“Here lies our brother, his wife and son, everyone has come to celebrate them. It means even in the short period that they lived, they lived impactful lives. They made great contributions to humanity.
“Here is a man, though not a politician, he made his money through our investments. He had the world in his palm financially. He even controlled the political class.
“This takes me to my question to the political class. What is all this struggle all about? You want to kill and bury, to what end?
“But today, with all the power financially, he couldn’t control life. Is it not enough for us to ask ourselves, why are we struggling?
“Why are we not making enough impact in the life of our people. Please, let the political class reflect on this”
Governor Fubara said in immortalising the deceased, the state government will work with Herbert Wigwe Foundation to ensure that the Wigwe University is sustained in accordance with the dreams of Herbert Wigwe.
In his address, Nigeria Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, who represented the federal government at the event, said Nigerians, the political class, and indeed Africa leaders will continue to mourn the passing of an iconic personality as Herbert Wigwe.
In his sermon, Vice Chairman of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria in Rivers State, Pastor Adesoji Oni said God by the death of Herbert Wigwe reminded everyone to be prepared for eternity because it will come when they least expected it.
Several dignitaries attended the nights of tributes in Lagos and funeral at Isiokpo his home town. They included the Senate President,Godswill Akpabio, Governors of Akwa Ibom state, Governor Umo Eno, Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, Governor Duoye Diri of Bayelsa, Governor Alex Otti of Abia, Former Emir of Kano, Mohammed Sanusi, Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi..
Earlier at the Night of Tributes in Lagos on Wednesday March 6, the 14th Emir of Kano State and former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mohammed Sanusi recounted in tears how the late Herbert Wigwe helped him after he had been dethroned and sent out of the State.
According to Sanusi, “When I had problems in Kano, I called him (Wigwe) about six months before I was to leave Kano and I said to him, ‘Herbert I know you will give all your best to solve all these problems but I am convinced that this is what is going to happen. And he said to me, ‘Your Highness, don’t worry, whatever happens don’t worry we are here for you.
“On that day I heard on the radio that I have been dethroned, the night before it happened, I called and said I wanted to come to Lagos. The announcement was made by 9 am and by noon; Herbert had a plane at the tarmac in Kano ready. I put my family on that plane, no message, no phone call, l put them on that plane. Herbert received them, put them in an hotel and later got them accommodation for months…”, Emir Sanusi who broke down in tears thrice narrated.
Recall that Dr. Herbert Onyewumbu Wigwe was born at Island Maternity Hospital, Lagos, to Pastor Shyngle and Pastor (Mrs) Stella Wigwe on August 15, 1966. The nation was in the midst of severe political crisis which eventually led to the outbreak of the civil war the following year. Herbert’s father had enlisted as a captain in the Nigerian Army in 1963 and was based Kaduna; but he relocated to Lagos just before the military coup of January 15, 1966. Herbert was their third child, coming after Osita and Chilo; and was followed by Emeka, Peggy and Stella. During the civil war, his family settled in various South Eastern cities, including Calabar. It was at this time that Herbert learnt the Efik language which he spoke fluently, in addition to his native Ikwerre.
After the war, Pastor Shyngle Wigwe commenced his famed career as a broadcast professional in the state and federal service, working in Port Harcourt, Ibadan and Benin, and rising to become the Director General of the Nigerian Television Authority. Herbert’s mother, who studied nursing in the United Kingdom, managed the growing family with clinical efficiency.
Herbert therefore grew up in a typical post-independence civil service household, imbibing traditional values of integrity, meritocracy, respect and accountability which typified the character of Nigeria’s public servants in the 1960s. Herbert commenced his formal education at Port Harcourt Primary School; he was admitted into Federal Government College, Sokoto in 1977, but after his first form, he transferred to Federal Government College, Warri, where he completed his secondary education in 1982. His detribalized, patriotic worldview was formed very early in life. Herbert related with and treated everybody with kindness and respect irrespective of class, social status, ethnicity and religion. He made friends from across the country and the world and was always embraced, at work and home, by Nigerians from different parts of the country.
As a young man, Herbert was also mentored by his father’s younger brother, Chief Henry Ikechi Wigwe, a very successful entrepreneur. Herbert continuously sought the approval of his father, a strict disciplinarian who prioritized education and ensured that his children went to the best schools an honest public servant could afford. Herbert’s love for mathematics and his skills in numeracy were apparent even at an early age, prompting Emeka, his younger brother, to nickname him ACG, short for ‘Accountant-General’, predicting that Herbert would one day become Nigeria’s Accountant-General.
In 1983, Herbert was admitted into the University of Nigeria to study accountancy. He graduated with a Second-Class Upper division degree in 1987, maintaining his strong academic track record. But his outstanding academic capabilities did not come at the expense of other aspects of his life. His love for music, particularly Herbie Hancock and his zest for the finer things were apparent to those who knew him.

Igbiki Benibo