We had been in touch with his Personal Assistant, Paul, for the interview. The old man agreed for it to take place on 1 October, Independence Day, at his Lekki home. We thought because of his round face, he would be a short man. We were mistaken.
When Pa Shyngle Wigwe, the father of the late Group CEO of Access Holding, Herbert Wigwe, dressed in a pair of trousers and a blue vest, opened the door for us, we saw a tall man who, despite his old age, neither doddered nor moved with the help of a walking stick. His arms looked strong, an indication that he was given to aerobics like his friend, former President Olusegun Obasanjo. True, an old soldier never die!
Pa Wigwe led the way and we followed through an expansive sitting room to a garden visitors’ reception area where flowers and creeping plants caressed the glass panels. Pa Wigwe put us at ease with his jokes, one of which was that it was only in this estate that he could walk to exercise his body “without being kidnapped…”
Shyngle Wigwe celebrated his 90th birthday with a thanksgiving/celebration service at Redeemed Christian Church of God, Resurrection Parish, on October 8, 2024, in Lekki, Lagos State.
Speaking at the event, the founder of Stanbic IBTC, Atedo Peterside, noted the importance of longevity, referencing the impact of his parents’ longevity on his life. He said, “Longevity is a blessing. Don’t underestimate what you can still do as a grandparent.” On his part, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank, Roosevelt Ogbonna, noted that the quality of life was not just about age, but about living a life of impact.
True, Pa Wigwe, a man of many parts (a retired Army Captain; former Director General of Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and a Redeemed Christian Church of God Pastor and Elder) had many reasons to thank God, despite the storms. Moreover, he has impacted many lives positively.
Pa Wigwe was born on October 8, 1934, in Isiokpo, Rivers State to the family of Augustus Wigwe, a police officer, and Watuze Wigwe. He attended Okrika Grammar School between 1949 and 1953, after which he proceeded to Yaba Technical Institute (now Yaba College of Technology) from 1957 to 1959, where he learnt engineering.
He joined the Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) in 1954 before moving to England in 1959, when he got the BBC training course as well as a federal scholarship. He studied at Southampton Technical College, UK, from 1960 to 1962, and at the University of Pittsburgh until 1979.
He was also a soldier who rose to the level of captain in the Nigerian Army.
He narrated:
“On this particular day, I made up my mind and left my wife at home with a baby. I’m talking about the year 1963. I left them at home, went to the military and they gave me a letter of appointment. I left the home a civilian, but by the time my wife would see me at about 3 o’clock, I had become a soldier,” he said.
“When I was in the army, I was sent to Kaduna on a short posting to man the one brigade workshop. There, I shared a flat with Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, one of the leaders of the 1966 coup. There was a particular day a brigadier summoned me to his office and spoke derogatorily against the Igbos and the GOC (General Officer Commanding) then, General Aguiyi Ironsi. I felt bad about that, and I related it to Nzeogwu who tried to calm me down, promising that he would deal with the brigadier and his likes very soon. I didn’t know how he was going to do that being just a major,” he recounted in a 2017 publication titled ‘There is Wisdom in Silence’.
In this interview with Yomi Osoba, Charles Ekanem, and I, he narrates his life story, his days in the Army, as DG, NTA, his Christian life, the tragic deaths of two sons and why he still stands, despite the storms.
-Ademola Adegbamigbe, October, 2024
Congratulations on your 90th birthday. Looking back now, share your reflections and feelings with us about becoming a nonagenarian
I give thanks to God because the world is full of vicissitudes. I just thank God, the All in All in this journey. I appreciate God’s grace. Also, I thank you for finding time to come here to wish me well.
How would you describe your childhood experience?
I never thought I would be where I am today. I was a little boy in the village; I lived with my grandmother and attended elementary school there. We used pot for cooking. We used wick (local torches made of palm oil chaffs) because lanterns were expensive. We would walk to the stream to fetch water and that was what we drank. My place is Isiokpo, about 25 miles from Port Harcourt, in Rivers State. When you look back today, in retrospect, it was a normal life for us.
Your Dad was a policeman. How did you cope with his being transferred from one part of the country to another? It was a peripatetic work.
That was the reason I stayed in the village, I stayed back while the younger ones were going with them.
What informed your choice of career?
We were in the village. Did we think of any career then? No. You went to school because everybody was going to school. You stayed there and made do with what was available. When we got to Standard Six, there were forms we used to fill either you going to secondary school, teachers training college, technical college or working with the pastorate that you would work with the reverend father. Even that you were not thinking of what you would do after because you were not exposed to city life. Then after secondary school, you had plenty of options where you wanted to work. There was this unit then, a labour exchange where you could be fixed with the Public Works Department (PWD), the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria (ECN), and later the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) or you went into broadcasting at the Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation.
I went to the Nigerian Railway as a clerk. One day, I went to the motor park and saw one of my English teachers. He asked, Shyngle what are you doing now? I said I’m Clark in railway and he said, clerk! He was an English teacher at the school. He wondered what had happened. There and then, he took me to the engineering department in broadcasting and they conducted an interview and I passed. That was how I became an engineering assistant. That was when I knew there was something like a career! There see EIC Engineer in Charge.
*Watch video of Pa Wigwe and his guests during his 90th birthday function below. Credit: owambe_vibes
What happened then as engineering assisted there was an examination body called City and Guild for Telecom Engineers. I put in and passed the exam. In the selection for the BBC exam, the rate of failure was high. They realised that it was because they were choosing older people. They change the system. At a particular time, they realised people were failing the selection exam and they devised another method. So, instead of picking by seniority, they did the selection by taking engineer assistants and others. I was taken and one other student. The interview was for graduate professionals and I passed.
So, in summary, I joined the Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) in 1954 before moving to England in 1959, when I got the BBC training course as well as a federal scholarship. I studied at Southampton Technical College, UK, from 1960 to 1962, and at the University of Pittsburgh until 1979
You attended Okrika Grammar school, can you still remember all the old mates?
I think the ones I can remember are the ones who started FESTAC named Fortune Ebie, who was my classmate. There was CLT Tobie. There was Benjamin Alabena, he read Estate Management and Law. The last two are in Port Harcourt.
Apart from the teacher you mentioned who were the other teachers who influenced you, particularly when you were in Yaba Technical Institute (now Yaba College of Technology) from 1957 to 1959?
There was a teacher who taught us mathematics Mr Scoby. There was Mr Paltin who taught us electrical engineering, I can’t remember others.
Why did you Join the military in 1966?
As I returned from Britain, I went back to broadcasting ( because I travelled on study leave). There were openings in the Corporation. I applied and that was how I joined the Military in 1963.
As I said during a church service to commemorate my 80th birthday, and I was quoted in the media, on this particular day, I made up my mind and left my wife at home with a baby. I’m talking about the year 1963. I left them at home, went to the military and they gave me a letter of appointment. I left the home a civilian, but by the time my wife would see me at about 3 o’clock, I had become a soldier!
You were very close to Olusegun Obasanjo and Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu. Something happened that could have led you to be court-martialled like other coup plotters…Kindly narrate what happened…
I was a military officer colleague of Olusegun Obasanjo and Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu in Kaduna at the time of Nigeria’s first military coup in January 1966.
As I said in a 2017 interview, ‘There is Wisdom in Silence’, When I was in the army, I was sent to Kaduna on a short posting to man the One Brigade Workshop. There, I shared a flat with Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, one of the leaders of the 1966 coup. There was a particular day a brigadier summoned me to his office and spoke derogatorily against the Igbo and the GOC (General Officer Commanding) then, General Aguiyi Ironsi. I felt bad about that, and I related it to Nzeogwu who tried to calm me down, promising that he would deal with the brigadier and his likes very soon. I didn’t know how he was going to do that being just a major.
I didn’t know what Nzeogwu meant by saying ‘something will happen’. I did not take it seriously. The man said ‘I will deal with them.’ I was shocked. How could somebody as small as him, a major, deal with top officers? I was disturbed many days that I couldn’t eat, but I was encouraged to eat by a friend. Fear gripped me I was looking for a way to get out. The senior military man called some Igbo top brass political officers! My friend encouraged me to eat.
What did I know about the coup? I could not even spell the word, coup. Maybe these officers discussed it in their studies or were taught in their schools of infantry. But, look at me, a core engineer! I just forgot about Nzeogwu’s threat. It was just like somebody saying, I will slap you if you are not careful. Nzeogwu told me that some of these officers who used to sleep with the wives of their junior officers would see one day.
One morning, 15 January 1966, it was not up to 10 years when Nzeogwu issued his threat (innocuously), and we were in a workshop. General Banjo was addressing us. We heard Tafawa Balewa, the Prime Minister, has been killed, Chief Festus Okotiebor has been killed, and Chief Ladoke Akintola has been killed.
In other words, shortly after I returned to Lagos, there was a coup and without knowing those who were behind it, I reasoned that Nzeogwu must have done this! But I didn’t say it out. If I had, I would have been arrested as part of the coup plotters and probably killed because soon after, it was announced that the leader of the coup was Nzeogwu. I would have been arrested and accused of knowing the coup plan. It was as if ice water was poured on me. It was as if somebody would tell them what I knew.
If you were in my position, you would be afraid. If they arrested me, the authorities would have killed me, an innocent soul. They would have said, you knew about this coup but you did not report it.
But thank God that I didn’t say anything in the hearing of anyone. God just sealed my mouth. I thank God for that gift of being a taciturn. I would have been court-martialed and you won’t be able to talk to me today.
That taught me a lesson: if you want to keep your life, you have to keep your mouth shut. When you open your mouth too wide, you are heading for destruction. That is why I don’t talk anyhow. I advise people to watch their tongues.
Was there something in your mind forcing you to keep shut because man has this tendency to reveal a secret to a confidant and the confidant will reveal it to a close person and so on…?
No, I thought it was a joke. It took me over 10 years before I could tell this incident. I didn’t know anything about the coup. I just kept my mouth shut. Thank God. I am not someone who talks too much I always keep quiet anywhere if there is nothing to talk about.
With all that experience you had in the Army, you refused to go back after the Civil War. Why?
After the war, how can I go back to them? In the Army, you sleep with one eye open. You could be called upon at 3 am. I didn’t want to have that experience again. Imagine you dining with someone in the afternoon, you could see him in the evening picked up and killed. Moreover, your colleagues might be promoted twice or thrice they become your senior and would you be fulfilled?
After the Civil War, those who were Nigerian Army officers but then fought on the side of Biafra were screened. Some of us who were willing were reabsorbed into the Nigerian Army, but I refused to return to the army.
Eventually, I was discharged with all my entitlements. I asked my wife to live with her parents in Calabar, Cross River state, while I stayed in Port-Harcourt. I then decided to work for myself. I searched for contracts and I got one: the construction of drainage along Aba Road, in Port Harcourt.
What made you decide to work for yourself after leaving the army?
Because what I saw during the war in the Army, was you put on your boot more than 19 hours a day because the enemy could strike unexpectedly. You had to be ready, particularly when the enemy had entered your territory.
If I put the number of hours per day in the Army into my own business, I would be rich and more comfortable. One day, I obtained a contract from an establishment to construct a drainage.
Tell us about your experience at NTA where you rose to become DG.
I was in broadcasting before going into NTA. I attended an interview at NTA. Engineer Vincent Maduka, myself, Adamu Muhammed many others served together. We were general managers of the situation. At the interview panel was Alhaji Ismaila Babatunde Jose who was the boss of Daily Times. Folake Solanke from Ibadan, the first woman Senior Advocate of Nigeria was also there. The position of DG was a five-year tenure system.
I joined NTA as a broadcast engineer and served in Rivers State. I was also a senior lecturer at the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria engineering training school in Lagos. I rose through the ranks as general manager of NTA Port-Harcourt to become director-general of the organisation.
NTA was a delight to work in; that was the first choice of every school leaver — to work in broadcasting. We worked as a team and produced unique programmes, programmes I don’t see anymore yet we have so many stations.
NTA as an institution was focused on national development, and how to use broadcasting as a tool for national development. Most of us forgot where we came from and concentrated on the type of programmes we produced for uniting the country. That was the time we had Samanja, Ijokwu, The Masquerade, and Sunset at Dawn with the sole aim of building a united country.
You joined RCCG and at a point you became pastor. Kindly share your experience from when you became born again.
It was interesting. When I left service, I was attending St Saviours Anglican Church while my wife attended RCCG.
I used to drop her at her church. One beautiful day, I drove her to RCCG, Ebute Metta. The place is good now. But at that time, the environment was bad. Overhead, the cloud gathered. There was going to be a rain or heavy storm. How could I drop my wife at church like that when heavy rain was about to fall? It was not right.
So, I entered the church auditorium. The clapping was much. So was the singing. They organised the children too in a section.
Then Pastor Enoch Adeboye mounted the altar area. He said we are going to examine Psalm 23 today. I thought to myself, what would he say that was new? The Psalm 23 that I could recite offhand from back to front!
By the time he started to preach, tears started rolling down my cheeks. I could see the picture of me as a dirty sinner! That was it.
I asked Pastor Adeboye, did I needed to baptise the second time since I was baptised in the Anglican before.
He said, well, I had a similar experience. I came from the Anglican Church, I came into this place and had to be baptised a second time. That was how I got baptized. Since then, there has been no turning back. That was in 1991.
You and your wife had married for over 62 years. What is the secret of your oneness?
We got married 62 years ago on 23 June 1962 at St Mary’s Church, Southampton, UK.
We study the word of God together. You pray together. It is like watching and washing yourselves. Like this morning, we read Matthew 5:44 where Jesus says, love your enemies, bless those that curse you. Now we are talking about those who love Jesus. If you slap me now, I will not slap you back. If you slap somebody, you may not know he has a heart condition. He may just slump and die.
As a Christian, you don’t fear death. Only that you don’t have to commit suicide because that one is not good. One of the keys is that praying together binds the family together. There is no way you’ll keep malice with the other person and begin to share scriptures. So even if you are annoyed with somebody and you begin to share scriptures, you will wipe away the past.
You have gone through a lot. You were attending an RCCG ministers conference in 1977 when Osita your son died in an accident. Then on 9 February this year, you lost your son Herbert and grandchildren with him. Despite these tragic occurrences, you are still standing. Philosophically and religiously, what is your formula for withstanding these?
In Galatians 6:17, Apostle Paul said: “From henceforth let no man trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. From now on, don’t let anyone trouble me with these things.”
The point is, if you have faith, you must have scars. I have scars. These are the scars on my body which I will show on that day.
As a Christian, when these things happen, what will you do? Commit suicide? No.
There is this rumour that some eminent Nigerians kept money with your late son, Herbert…
When somebody dies, a lot of things are said about him. It is a lie!
Some said these eminent Nigerians have been pestering you!
No, far from it!
How did you raise successful children?
If you put God first in all you do, things will turn out right, your children will be successful.
And when I was young, I did not spare the rod. I tried. I applied that old system, sparing the rod and spoiling the child.
I was in Benin when they were shooting armed robbers. There was one man whose son was an armed robber. The man in question could not come out of the house.
At that time, the authorities would announce on the radio that there would be shootings at the stadium today. The following people will be executed. He then realised that his son was among them. If such happens and you know that your son is among those to be shot, where will you put your face?
So you must bring your children up in a disciplined way and in the way of the Lord.
Pa Wigwe is firm but fair; he means a lot to me- Tonnie Iredia.
Tonnie Ossa Iredia, journalist, broadcaster, lawyer and former Director General of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) explains how he met Pa Shingle Igwe who turns 90.
Pa Wigwe will be 90 on 8 October. What is your message to him, sir?
Thank you for finding it worthwhile to talk with me. He is somebody who means the whole world to me. I always want the best for him, I wish him many more years. I know that 90 looks great in the eyes of people, but for those of us who love Pa Wigwe, we want him to spend another 90. I pray that God gives him many more years of peace and joy.
You said he meant a lot to you kindly explain that…
Well you know he was a professional mentor to me, even though I became a director general of the NTA, he was a director general well before me in the same NTA. Very long ago when I was just a news manager when we met each other, he was the zonal director of our zone. I was, therefore, the chairman of the promotion exercise which we all attended to become managers. At the end of the interview, he called me to see him later in his hotel room. I went there and he, first of all, asked me what school I attended and I told him the University of Ibadan and he said Aha! No wonder!
So he shook my hand severely and said ‘You were the best in the interview,’ I like people who are articulate, reasonable and smart, but the reason I called you to come and see me is not that you were the best and therefore you will get the job, but because I was able to see ahead of something and I want to tell you that from what I saw, you will become DG NTA. It came to pass expertly 25 years later. That prophesy was made in 1978 and by 2003 I was DG of NTA.
So you see that he wasn’t somebody that I knew just because of greed or anything but he just liked my great potential and he paid very close attention to it and from that time till the day we speak, he took me like a son he became a family friend my wife and my children are very close to him and in fact, if my wife were to be around now she will insist that she wants to say something because PA WIGWE did not just take only me but my entire family. So, he means quite a lot to me and he made sure that he didn’t tell me that prophesy, he guided me through.
Haven worked as DG of NTA also, what would you say about Papa’s legacy there?
For me, I don’t know or rather I do not have the opportunity of wanting to look at the legacy of what the general public said of him, I was so carried away by his charisma that all I knew was the legacy I saw. I saw him as a disciplinarian, a man who is firm but fair, he doesn’t need to know you to give you your due, that is why he took to me even when he didn’t know me and he made sure from that day till he left NTA, he was like a guardian angel to me, so I don’t know what others saw because some people will not appreciate you because you didn’t give them what they didn’t deserve. But if you’re somebody who has sense you can think well about what is good and what is bad and what is right and what is wrong and what it takes for somebody to be able to speak the truth irrespective of the circumstance.
You cannot have a greater legacy of a man who showed the great potential of leadership. I learnt so much from him and I tried to do all the things he did. He became at the NTA personnel field engineering directorate and I was in the news directorate, you see there was no relationship but then he became a manager, and a zonal director in which case he became a great administrator who was able to identify potential, who was able to identify people who know what it takes to be great and he projected such people. I was able to see, like other people of his time who were scared of bright fellows, Pa Wigwe was embracing bright young graduates and so those of us who came through him got to the very top because of his mentorship.
Having studied Pa Wigwe for that long, what will you recommend for the present crop of public servants? What lesson do you recommend to them that you learnt from Pa Wigwe?
I think it is obvious that if you want to be a successful civil servant you should learn to follow the rules of the game, you should learn to be fair to all, and you should learn to avoid criticism, nepotism and vices that seem to be what we call predictive.
As I mentioned to you Pa Wigwe is from Rivers State, and I am from Edo. He was in engineering and I was in News, there were no connections other than merit he saw. I, therefore, recommended to people who are working in government that they should learn to embrace ethics and ensure that they create opportunities for people to take over from them so that the organization will not fail. Like other people who keep employing friends and relations who keep helping those that they know but who are inexperienced and ineffective who will later contribute to the downfall of the organization. Those who are in NTA today may not know anything about him because he left long ago, but somebody like me, if I had my way I would always want Pa Wigwe as my director general.
With all the challenges that Pa Wigwe went through, and with what happened to his son, he still stands unbroken. What philosophical lesson can people learn from that?
I think it is very straight, everybody must learn to know, that everybody has his destiny and the old attitude and adage of people thinking that the first to come will be the first to go” is never always like that, nobody expects and prays for what happened to Pa Wigwe to happen, but since it happened the ability to overcome what has happened and to survive thereafter is a sign of greatness.
When I visited him during the period of that crisis, I kept reminding him of his traces of greatness, to let bygone be bygone, accept events that you cannot do anything about because that is for the supernatural. I know it is difficult to forget about what happened, but I believe that the fact that Pa Wigwe has been able to remain alive to date is a sign that he heard what people like us have said and I pray for and will continue to pray that God should allow his destiny to take turn and that challenges should not overcome him. It is a prayer that myself and family pray daily. I wish him peace and joy along with his wife who also is a very patient, friendly, humble and motherly personality.
Pa Shygwe Paid My Hospital Bill When I was 10 – Dr Okpagu
Dr George Okpagu is the former president of the Nigeria Medical Association and also a member of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies. He eulogises Pa Shyngle Wigwe at 90
Pa Wigwe will be 90 come 8, October 2024, what is your message to him?
My message to him is, well I wish him all the good things in life, good luck and long life, because he is a man who serves a God, and if you serve God you do have not to ask for a short life and your life will be longer.
Could you recall the first day you met Pa Wigwe, and what was your first impression?
First of all, how did I meet Pa Wigwe? That happened on 24th September 1962. I was crossing the road near my house at Obalende and I was knocked down by a vehicle and I became unconscious. It was Pa Wigwe who took me to the Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi. I was 10 years old by then, and I did not know the person.
Eventually, I recovered. I continued my education, I was in primary six when this accident took place and I went to read Zoology and then proceeded to read Medicine at the University of Calabar, Cross River State. After my medical school, I was with my father in the house when NTA News came up. Pa Wigwe was announced as Director General of NTA. My father said, ‘Doctor, do you remember when you had an accident? That is the man who took you to the hospital paid all the bills and even wrote an undertaking.’
I said, ‘Yes I remember’. I was told all the circumstances. You know how I had grown up and I told my father I would go to NTA Victoria Island, Lagos. I went to NTA to see the DG, getting to his office the secretary did not allow me in because the secretary a woman said it was only on an appointment that I could see him but I narrated the incident to her.
She later went to inform Pa Wigwe who came out to usher me by himself. We hugged ourselves and he took me around the NTA premises to introduce me to other directors and finally to his house at Illupeju Lagos where I was entertained. Also, he introduced me to his wife and his last-born daughter who is very big now. He gave me transport fare; I said no. He insisted that I should collect it. When I got home I told my wife the story and she said by the weekend, let’s visit the man again. My wife and I went to visit the family again, the wife gave us a gift and that gift was with us until we packed to this place. By then, we were living in Surulere Lagos.
To you, he is a father figure…
Yes, he has indeed been a father, even when I had health challenges he and his son Herbert Wigwe supported me immensely which I cannot forget. I am so happy by his godly virtue, he knocked me down and paid all the bills and my father was a carpenter, who could do that except a God-fearing person.
What do you learn from him?
What I learned is that whether you are small or big, middle, a human being is a human being, we must respect fellow human beings no matter their status. Everybody must respect and love fellow human beings.
With all the Challenges Pa Wigwe went through, he is unbroken. What philosophical lessons can people learn from that?
A lesson is any time you see a man or woman do good to other people, you that he did good to, must appreciate him and more will be added to you. It was in the news that I heard the plane crash of his son. Through him, I knew his son in person. When this thing happened, I was very sad and went to pay condolences to him despite that I could not go upstairs, But one of his drivers, Paul by name arranged for me to see him, Dangote and the other directors were there. I thank God for the strength God gave him to withstand this pain.
Pastor Wigwe is a Caring Father- ‘Funmi Adeniyi
Olorunfunmilayo Adeniyi is an assistant pastor in charge of Lagos Province 2 in The Redeemed Christian Church of God. She speaks well of Pa Shyngle Wigwe, who turns 90.
As Pa Wigwe turns 90, what is your message to him?
Number one is to thank God for his life, and I don’t know whether to call him Pastor Shyngle Wigwe but I like Pastor Wigwe is a Caring Father- ‘Funmi Adeniyi
to call him Daddy Wigwe because I lack words to describe the man. I met him 25 years ago when he wanted to renew his passport.
He came to see my father in the Lord, Pastor Brown Oyitso, and he called me to come and “help daddy.”
I got his passport, took it to the passport office, and in a twinkle of an eye, it was renewed. Since that day, I have become Daddy’s daughter.
I have never seen a humble man like Pa Wigwe. He kept calling me to appreciate. I said to myself, “This man is extremely humble.” You can not spend 10 or 15 minutes with him without him talking about God. That is the level of his passion.
Papa doesn’t love you because you are high or low; he loves both high and low. He welcomes people to his house no matter their status. Daddy will open the door for you. I remember when I had a challenge with my husband’s health, the way Daddy called, Funmi, Funmi to show concern was wonderful. He is a prayer warrior. I know he has a place in the heart of God, that is why God has kept him.
He had a lot of challenges; he would have given up, but he held on to his God. I used to live very close to them many years ago. On Mondays, mummy would call me to come and take my breakfast. Well, I just want to say the Lord keeps him for His kingdom and keeps him for us to emulate him.
Daddy is extremely generous. Let me tell you how he helped me when I was to run a private school.
I was looking for someone to discuss with and perhaps for advice. After sharing ideas with him, he encouraged me to go ahead, and instantly, he supported me financially.
That was what I used to start school.
He is a beacon of hope. He is a burden bearer. You can’t come in contact with him and remain the same way or go to him and leave with your hopelessness.
He will pump life through the scriptures into you.
I wish him a happy birthday.
Apart from the time you met when you helped with the renewal of his passport, were you at any time attending the same parish with him?
The man is a great teacher. He is loaded with the word of God, and he preaches in season and out season. Sound doctrine, he tells you the true word of God. He had ministered in my parish many times.
How would you describe your relationship with the family as a whole?
Daddy and mummy loves me. This year, mummy said Funmi, come and see me. I went to their house, mummy took me to her room and gave me a very beautiful dress, very expensive! They are a caring family. They always think about you.
There is a question we want to ask from which Nigerians and Christians will benefit. Baba went through a lot apart from the death of his first son. He lost three generations a day. What can people learn from it because Baba is still standing unbroken?
After the death of his second son, I was un my house one day. I opened my phone and I saw a post that Daddy collapsed in the village. I knew Daddy could not collapse. I made a call directly to ask Daddy, and he said “Funmi don’t mind them. Nothing happened to me.”
I want to believe that Christ is in him, making him stand. Ordinary men can’t make it. He is not an ordinary man. He is standing today because he had hid himself in the mighty power of God and he has the strength of God. Christ is in him.
If what has happened to them has happened to someone who is not in the Lord, something else must have happened. He carries the grace of God. When challenges happened, he did not hide his feelings he wept as a human being, but after that, he became cheerful and strong.
What are your expectations of the family?
I expect that they be more closer to God. Daddy loves to sing this song, “Nearer my God to thee…I know Daddy is already seeing himself in heaven. I’m not saying he is going now. I pray along with him that nothing will stain his garment in Jesus name. He trust in The Lord.
God used Pa Wigwe to connect me to my first meaningful job in life- Emeka Orji.
Emeka Orji who lives in Canada is one of the mentees of Pa Shyngle Igwe. He has fine words to describe the old man,
On October 8, Pastor Dr. Shyngle Wigwe will join the League of Nonagenarians, what message do you have for him?
Daddy, you have lived well. You gave life your best, raised great children, impacted lives, and served God with passion. Age 90 years is a special milestone! Congratulations and happy 90th birthday.
Could you recall the first day you met Pa Wigwe and what was your first impression?
My first encounter with Daddy was in 2008. It was meant to be short and uneventful. But, from just meeting to learning computers, we got on a journey of destiny. Daddy took me into the family, accepting and loving me and my family from that day till forever. It was my destiny moment and I am glad it happened!
He has been like a father to you, kindly explain.
Well, quite literally, God used him to connect me to my first meaningful job in life, he was chairman/father of the day at my wedding, the only person my immediate family calls Daddy, the only father who truly loves me and proves it by calling to check on me, pray for me from where ever he is in the world almost every week. Daddy was the first person to love me unconditionally, give physically to me, teach me lessons about God and life through practice, and show me the Father’s love by example. Lost my biological father quite early.
What life ethics did you learn from him?
Quite numerous, loving and genuinely serving God, strength to persevere regardless of the challenges, being a true Christian in truth and indeed! Etc
With all the challenges Pa Wigwe went through he is unbroken. What philosophical lessons can people learn from that?
It’s hard to describe lessons from this as I cannot even begin to imagine the burden and challenges that come with it. What I see, though, is a man standing after all! I can only see the inner strength to withstand storms and live what we truly believe.
You’re free to speak on other areas that he influenced you positively.
Sincerely, Daddy has been a major part of my life and destiny (next to my salvation, and immediate family). I literally wouldn’t be where I am today if our parts had not crossed. The selfless love, acceptance, care and commitment he showed to me is unmatched. He is my mentor, destiny helper, hero and living example. It’s important to know that we are not connected by tribe, age, state of origin, human factors or any other human arrangements. This is simply destiny-made.
Pastor Shyngle Wigwe practices what he preaches- Charles Kpandei
Charles Kpandei, a banker now Regional Pastor with Redeemed Christian Church of God [RCCG], Jakande Gate, Lekki Lagos, also speaks about the Pa Wigwe he knows
What message do you have for Pa Wigwe as he is celebrating 90 years on October 8, 2024?
My message to him is that God should sustain and prosper him and he shall continue to keep his faith in God that sustains him over the years.
How would you describe your first encounter with Daddy?
Well, I have known Daddy for a long time first at NTA when he was DG. Secondly, Herbert his late son when was in the same Federal Government College Sokoto. he was in form one while I was in form four.
But years ago, I moved here as Regional Pastor and Daddy has been a father to me and my family. Even when I lost my mummy, Pa Wigwe had to travel to my place three days before the ceremony.
I’m Daddy’s Pastor but he is my father spiritually and physically. Daddy has been a big Pastor over the years when while some of us were still growing. Daddy is somebody who practices all the things he preaches and teaches. You may wonder why I’m putting these inside one question. He is very dear to me as an elderly man who is retired. In RCCG he is a pastor and Senior Elder, his humility is second to none. If Daddy is indisposed and does not want to come to church, he will inform me and the others. If he is going to travel, he will carry me along. He is committed to the things of God. As Senior Elder and Senior Pastor in RCCG, he needs not to summit to me but Daddy will always do that by informing me of his
Movement. He is very disciplined in doing all that. I’m his Pastor by his choice.
You called him Daddy or my father can you explain that?
Daddy is somebody I emulate because he lives what he preaches and teaches. I know him both spiritually and physically I know him to be gentle, humble, and solid in the Christian faith. He has a friend and that one is almost a hundred or so, they will tell me all their stories from the beginning how they became Christians what happened. The other Baba will tell me how he was a chained smoker.
You were once his son’s mate at Federal Government College Sokoto. Did your friendship with him go beyond that school?
When Herbert Wigwe came to Sokoto, I was in form three and he was in form one so you know he was two years behind me, I later got to know from his father that after the first year, he took him to Warri, he didn’t finish with us. We always met. You know, I am a banker but then, while I and Daddy met we all came closer. Now all his children are my people.
You know the way Herbert died is shocking and I was in this office when somebody called that I must accompany them to Baba’s place and I asked why and they explained to me the incident so they wanted me to be there when they would break the news to him. That also shows that I am part of the family.
What do you expect of him at 90?
Maybe what he is doing now, he should keep doing that and he finishes well and strong. He should sustain it. However, he does not have much strength like youth, he may not be able to do all the things he used to do.
Spiritually God should sustain him. A few days ago, I was told that Baba Obasanjo was his
friend. I don’t know what to say that will carry weight from someone like me to that kind of highly placed person. May the Lord continue to sustain him and grant him long life and good health
What philosophical and religious lessons can one derive from the way he handled the vicissitudes of life? He lost a son, Osita earlier and then Herbert…
Yes, I wasn’t there, when such a thing happens, somebody may think that life is over for him. He will always remember Osita and then Herbert and the grandchildren. This kind of strength can only be possible because of his strong faith in God. We are meant to be examples of the things we preach. Temptations and trials are meant to make us stronger in faith and to encourage and comfort one another as the Bible states. This can only be through the help of the Holy Spirit. It’s the grace of God in his life. I wanted.
I wanted to turn you people down but when I saw what you wrote in the letter that despite the storms he is still standing out of 90, that moved me to grant you an audience.
PA WIGWE FAMILY
God gave me Wigwe as husband-wife, Stella
What message do you have for your husband celebrating 90
Daddy had been going through a lot. What I wish him is good health and peace of mind, real peace of mind
What kind of person is your husband?
He is a good husband. God gave him to me. He is a good father to my children.
He loves and cares for all of them equally. He is a child of God, sound in faith and he loves God.
Our father is highly disciplined- Dr Joyce Wigwe
What type of father is he?
My father is very strict, maybe because of discipline when he was in the army. He made us study hard and wanted us to get A’s in our subjects. We had no private teachers rather he was the one giving us assignments. He wanted every one of us to succeed.
Pa Wigwe if father to many- Dr Peggy Onwu
What message do you have to the daughter?
Daddy’s spirit never ceases to align with the spirit of God. That God will grant him wisdom. He will continue to be a father to many, and he will be a blessing to many.
The life lessons I learned from Pa Wigwe-Amaechi
Rt Honorable Rotimi Amaechi, former Governor of Rivers State, former Federal Minster of Transport and former Speaker of Rivers State House of Assembly
What message do you have for Pa Wigwe as he is celebrating 90 years on Earth?
He had been a father and succour to many people including me. When I lost my father, the next father I saw was him. As old as he is, he will call you a hundred times to check on you.
How you are faring with Baba, you wouldn’t know the difference between your real father and him because he is always there for you. Daddy is caring, very loving I mean real loving.
I go to his house, I will eat food. He and mummy will insist that I must eat. We should show gratitude to God for keeping him alive. With Herbert’s death, he was very worried, I spent two days in that house with them. Our prayer is that God keeps him alive for us. In fact, on that day I will be in Lagos to thank God with him.
Could you recall the first day you met him and what was your first impression?
I can’t remember. Don’t forget he is from my area. Growing up, we have heard a lot about him and the entire Wigwe family. What I can remember was when I was a governor, I had to approach him to chair my elder’s committee in Abuja. Since that day, his fatherly advice to the state was great.
The people of Rivers are also grateful to him for the role he played in my government when they say Rotimi when you were governor things were better and we enjoyed all-round peace. I said that it wasn’t me but I had a team and we took to elder’s advice. He taught me to receive shock and how to celebrate God.
He has been like a father to you, kindly explain more…
I tell you more about how he is more of a father to me. I would sit in Abuja and I would get a call from an over eighty-year-old to find out how I was faring, and how I was coping with the job. Any time I am in Lagos I always visit him.
What life ethics lesson did you learn from Him?
Patience, endurance, service to God and mankind, and generosity. Those are the lessons I learned from him.
With all the challenges, he remains standing.
He remains standing because his life is hidden in Christ. Thus, he has endurance, he believes in God that whatever happens God permitted it. These determine his thoughts.
He is a nonagenarian now. What are your expectations of him?
What I expect from him is to continue mentoring more children and I wish him long life in good health. I will continue to celebrate him maybe sometime in November, I will put something together to celebrate him.