Sadness, grief, tears and emotions ran high on March 9 2024, after the remains of the late Access Holdings Group CEO Herbert Wigwe, his wife and first son arrived in Nigeria. The heartbreaking burial marked the end of a week-long funeral rites to celebrate the life and achievements of the trio. The painful exit was witnessed by Herbert Wigwe’s three surviving children, Tochi, Hannah, and David, all of whom couldn’t control the heavy tears and the pain of losing three dear family members all at once. Friends, close associates, and even workers of the late banking Whizkid were all in attendance to pay their last respects. They only had good things to say about the man who lived an impactful life and was a blessing even to people he didn’t know. Many people spoke of the late Herbert’s generosity, remembering how he donated millions to worthy causes and adopted over 30 thousand children in his lifetime.
One Access Bank employee, especially, recalled how the accomplished banker started paying his house rent after he overheard his complaints of being unable to afford it. The employee recalled he had to formally write to his late boss to withdraw his help when he got back on his feet financially. But while some people were able to contain the grief and keep it together, the late billionaire’s father, Pastor Shyngle Wigwe, reportedly slumped a day before the final burial. According to an X influencer, the octogenarian was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital, where he is currently recuperating. However, this one incident has got many wondering if the late banker’s 89-year-old father and mother can bear this loss, mainly because it’s the second time they will be burying a child from a sudden and tragic accident.
Sadly, this time, it’s not only their son but his beloved and brilliant wife and their first son. Not everyone can handle such a big loss, as we know. During the week-long funeral rite and tribute, Herbert Wigwe’s elder sister narrated how death has taken a lot from them. Hmm …What are the tragedies of the Wigwes?
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Since the tragic and shocking exit of late billionaire banker Herbert Wigwe, alongside his wife and son, on February 9, 2024, the spotlight has been on his aged parents, Pastor Shyngle Wigwe and Mrs Stella Wigwe. This is because many people cannot begin to imagine how they are taking in the sad news of losing their dear son, a daughter-in-law, and a grandchild all in one day. The elder Wigwe couple have been married for 56 years. Just like everyone hoped to survive their parents, the late banker’s parents also prayed that their children survived them. Unfortunately, death has not only robbed them of this prayer once but twice in their old age.
Herbert Wigwe’s father is famous as the man who went from practising engineering to joining the military, then joining the Civil service and retiring as a pastor under RCCG. According to Pastor Shyngle Wigwe, he joined the church and became born again after following his wife to service one fateful day. Since then, the octogenarian has taken his Christian faith very seriously, to the point where he became a pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God. Despite dedicating his life to the service of God, this has not shielded him from the worst pain every parent dreads. Twenty-six years ago, he was attending a ministers’ conference on June 5, 1997, when Osita, his first child, died in a road accident while travelling from Lagos to Port Harcourt. When he passed, Osita was only 34 years old, and it hit the elder Wigwe couple hard. While speaking with The Cable in 2018 in a joint interview with his wife, Stella, Pastor Shyngle said he could not minister to his congregation for weeks. All he did was cry like a baby. “I never sweated like that in my life before, and I didn’t think it was going to happen to me. For weeks, I couldn’t go up to the altar. I went, then I wept, and I came down. It was like somebody took a pair of forceps to draw out your heart from you,” he said.
The minister further revealed that he spoke to all his children daily, as such, he was very close to Osita who he described as more like a brother to him. “That boy was one in a million. He had the attributes of a daughter; he had the attributes of a son. He was a solution provider to all family problems. If I had him, I thought I had everything. For quite some time, I didn’t feel life was worth living anymore. We spoke as brothers, not as father and son,” he explained.
Mr and Mrs Wigwe were not the only ones burdened with the grief of losing their eldest son then. Herbert Wigiwe also lost his pregnant cousin and her husband in another tragic car crash. This painful loss in the family, combined with a cancer scare, convinced the late banker to become more health-conscious if he was going to cheat death. The financial guru quit alcohol and started taking personal fitness seriously. Unfortunately, all these precautions didn’t save him or protect his parents from the heartache of losing their loved ones to untimely death.
On February 9, 2024, Healthy and Fit Herbert, alongside his wife and son, passed in a helicopter crash in the US while on their way to watch the Superbowl game in Las Vegas. By February 9, their remains had arrived in Nigeria for burial.
Herbert Wigwe’s family and surviving children, during the emotional Week-long funeral and tribute, gravely narrated how death had taken so much from them.
Herbet Wigwe’s enderest sister, narrated their childhood and growing up in tears. Herbert Wigwe’s Only Surviving Brother also spoke about his new responsibility as a father to the orphans. While Herbert Wigwe’s US Based Younger sister narrated what happened on Febuary 9th in tears.
As the eldest daughter with two very young siblings, Tochi Wigwe paid the tributes on behalf of her siblings. When it came time to make the presentation for her brother, Chizi, and mother, Chizoba, Tochi had a friend read it out while she cried behind dark sunglasses. However, the eldest daughter found the courage to read her tribute to her father, indicating she was a daddy’s girl. As you must have guessed, it was beyond heart-wrenching. Tochi starts by describing her late father as “a paradox, a tower of strength with a heart as soft as silk.”
Tochi eulogized her late dad as a committed and doting father who was an “unwavering anchor for family and friends”. “At this moment, for the first time, your words resonate deeply within me. No longer do I want to tilt my head and squint my eyes in confusion. You were simply extraordinary,” Tochi added.
“You urged me to reach new heights I never even imagined. Whenever doubt clouded my mind, you would chuckle knowingly and say, ‘You really just don’t know whose child you are, you’ll soon find out.’ And once again, you were right: I’ve come to find out. Distance meant absolutely nothing to you. You travelled continents on a whim just to see me for a couple of minutes before heading back to your responsibilities,” she continued.
The grieving first daughter wondered who would do all that her late father used to do.
“According to him, my mother Hannah and I were the most beautiful, and my nickname was also ‘pretty.’…Who will prompt me to flash a peace sign in every photo; who will engage in marathon debates with my friends and me on flights to Cape Town; who will inquire, ‘What are they saying about me online today?’ And who will ask me about my thoughts on Wigwe University,” she asked.
Much more. Tochi further revealed that her late father left enormous shoes for her to fill.
The remains of the deceased, accompanied by a massive motorcade on Friday, March 8, were taken from the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, to Herbert’s father’s compound in Omueke, Isiokpo. On Saturday, March 9, 2024, the trio was laid to rest at a private mausoleum on the grounds of Wigwe University, the institution Herbert Wigwe founded in his hometown, Isiokpo, Rivers State. A solemn and sombre mood filled the air as mourners gathered at the RCCG, Lion of Judah parish in Isiokpo, for a funeral service.
The funeral service was a gathering of prominent figures, with dignitaries including former governor Kayode Fayemi, former presidential candidate Peter Obi, former governor Rotimi Amaechi, former senate president Bukola Saraki, and Billionaire businessman. Aliko Dangote, former CBN governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Governor Alex Otti, Governor Dapo Abiodun, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and many others. Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, also offered condolences and pledged the state government’s continued support for Wigwe University. It was after the funeral service that mourners proceeded to the private family tomb for the final burial, which took place around 2:45 pm. Tears flowed freely as the caskets were lowered into the ground. Their remains were buried in a private cemetery after a funeral church service at the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Lion of Judah parish, Isiokpo, Rivers State.
However, the father of the late banker was noticeably missing at the final burial. Initially, this confused many as rumours spread that he had died from grieving his son. But an X influencer quickly denied the reports, explaining that Pa Wigwe only slumped and was deemed okay after he was rushed to the hospital. “Herbert Wigwe’s father is not dead, please. He only slumped and has been taken to the hospital. Make una slow down with all this bad news,” he wrote.
But both narratives have again been debunked by an unconfirmed source, who says that Pa Wigwe never slumped during the burial proceedings and is “Hale and hearty.” The source reportedly said, “Even the Senate President (Godswill Akpabio) met and prayed for him. “The story of Pa Wigwe’s collapse is false. We should allow the family to mourn its dead and not add to the pain by writing false stories,” he added.
Later, explaining why Pa Wigwe was not sighted at the final burial of his son, an Isiokpo elder who was the approving authority of all publicity, including jingles for the burial on behalf of the traditional council for the community, said it was taboo for him to be present. According to their traditions, fathers don’t participate in the burial of their sons, who, in the right order of things, should have been the ones to bury their father. For this reason, Pa Wigwe stayed back in his ‘obi’ or courtyard to follow proceedings on television with some of the elders of the community who kept him company. “As I speak right here, Pa Wigwe is watching television with us,” the elder noted.
What do you think about reports that Herbert Wigwe’s 89-year-old father slumped? Do you agree this was too much for him?
Do you think he and his wife can survive burying another child? Also, what do you think about the late banker’s oldest daughter’s tribute to him?
