By Abiola Olawale
The 14th Emir of Kano State, Mohammed Sanusi, broke down in tears while recounting how the late Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Access Holdings Plc, Dr. Herbert Wigwe, came to his rescue after he was dethroned from the royal stool.
Sanusi, while speaking at the night of tribute to Wigwe on Wednesday, said the late banker saved his family from attacks after he was dethroned.
The former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), who broke down in tears thrice, said the late banker provided the jet that took his family out of Kano and even provided a place for him and his family to stay.
In his words: “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 the day I heard on the radio that I was dethroned, the night before it happened, I called and said I wanted to come to Lagos. The announcement was made at about 9 am, and by noon, Herbert had a plane at the tarmac in Kano. I put my family on that plane, no message, no phone call, I put them on that plane. Herbert received them, put them in a hotel, and later got them accommodation for months.
“When I heard of his death, I said ‘In the coming weeks and months, people will get to know Herbert the human being’. They know him as a banker, as a businessman, they don’t know him as a human being. He was always about others, not about himself. You can’t imagine how one human being could have been so many things to so many people.”
Speaking further, Sanusi revealed that he entrusted his life savings to Wigwe when he thought he was going to die two years ago.
According to him, Wigwe is the most loyal person in the world.
He continued: “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.
“On the day before this happened, I was on a chat group when somebody made a few remarks about Herbert that I found offensive and I defended Herbert. I made my point very clear that this was unacceptable”
“A few days after Herbert died; a friend called me and sent me a message. He sent a message to Herbert at about 3:20 am that morning (the day of the crash), telling him how I had stood up and defended him and forwarded my entire message to him. ‘Herbert replied at 3:28 am with one word ‘unbelievable’. He sent another message at 3:50 which was not delivered. From the presentation from the air traffic controllers, the crash happened at 3:30. So possibly, the last thing Herbert read was my message talking about him,” he added.
The New Diplomat reports that on Friday, February 9, 2024, Wigwe, alongside his wife, son, and Abimbola Ogunbanjo, the former group chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group Plc (NGX Group), passed away after their chopper with registration N130CZ, suffered a fatal crash. The Wigwes would be buried on March 9, 2024, after a combined funeral service at the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Lion of Judah Parish, Isiokpo.
