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| Herbert Onyewumbu Wigwe |
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| The Dandy |
He holds sway and has been the head honcho now for 6 years (since 2014), at Nigeria's most current biggest bank or financial institution, which is Access Bank.
With that unbelievable acquisition of Diamond Bank Plc last year, a bank then that was thought to be one of the top 10 banks in Nigeria and in fact one of the most innovative then, by that action alone Access Bank immediately took the mantle/cake as the number 1 bank in Nigeria without a doubt.
That position had always been what the big boys that took over the then Access Bank, a bank that then was the 65th bank out of 80 plus banks in Nigeria, wanted. And the brains behind the extraordinary feat were none other than Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, the former MD who initiated the growth that begun over a decade ago and Herbert Wigwe, the current GMD of 6 years running now, who has consolidated that growth fantastically. 2 supremely brilliant & handsome gentlemen, who after having risen to the positions of directors at the GTBank of then, where they were excellent, as they had proven their mettle. That Gtb then was where Fola Adeola then as MD/CEO and then the late Tayo Aderinokun, later as MD after, Mr. Adeola, had held sway and had shown what could happen when new energy and vivacity and calculated risk and more are pumped into a formerly lethargic sector, great things could happen.
GTBank then was one of the institutions that was the great breeding ground for excellent bankers, who when they leave, go on to to do greater things wherever they might berth later.
So Aig and his colleague and best friend/brother Herbert, resigned their commission then in 2002 to go for pastures new and with good investors backing them then, who were ready to support the 2 exceptionally brilliant men to the utmost, the new frontier they had thought to conquer then was none other than, Access Bank.
And so they began to build in earnest. And gradually and quite steadily too, all others began to take notice as they began to grow and like a little acorn then, steadily well watered and well fed, it began to grow and grow, taking scalps on the way too and after Aig's tenure had ended, having done exceptionally well and positioning the bank for the next level, the captainship of the growing behemoth fell into the hands of the next most capable person, in the person of Mr. Herbert Wigwe, who didn't flinch at all on getting the reins and had in fact been well prepared to step into the role and he began to steer the ship without batting an eyelid.
And with enough gusto and the much needed ability and grace, he has taken what he took over then now to the stratosphere and beyond in only a few years. And on the way too, garnering not a few accolades and prizes too. Bringing excellent innovation to bear and positioning the bank as one of the top 3 best banks in Nigeria and by extension West Africa, in terms of spread (branch network), excellent service delivery, profitability and massive growth. And as the bank has grown in leaps and bound, the 50 something year old brilliant dude has also grown with it too, clearly emerging as either the [richest (wealthiest) banker] in Nigeria today.
For that particular accolade of being the richest or wealthiest. It's a straight battle between him and the chairman of UBA Group, in the person of the philanthropist extraordinaire, Mr. Tony Elumelu, who has dazzled all comers in no small measure with his incredible Tony Elumelu Foundation, which has taken Africa by storm. Impacting excellently on the lives of the youths and budding entrepreneurs with great ideas.
That Herbert Wigwe of Access Bank Plc is a certified billionaire is not in doubt. What is not too clear as at now, is how big a billionaire he is. In Naira value, that billionaire status cannot be denied by anyone. It's in hard currency that we cannot yet ascertain appropriately. Whether he is in the 1 billion dollar plus circle or whether he has transcended that and he is in the 2 billion dollars range?
What we can actually tell you though for a fact is that, the shrewd and fantastically smart banker is a big boy many times over and there's no doubt about that at all.
The schoolmate and good friend of the former Governor of Lagos State, both were in UNN together, who some even consider to also be his business partner, that's talking about Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, has really without a doubt done very well for himself in the last 3 decades. And at this junction, we must actually ask him to stand up and take a beautiful bow, for a good job well done. Kudos to him.
Talking about his style. Though he favours more of suits 95% of the time, maybe due to his banking background where you are not supposed to be too in your face (unnecessarily flamboyant) as that causes alarm (raises a red flag🚩) bells to ring. But we can tell you for nothing that, those his suits, his shoes and his accessories like wrist watches (especially wristwatches) and cufflinks and even belts are not for small kids at all. For that though you cannot blame him at all. It's actually one of those little things that someone who has worked really hard, should enjoy. They call such things, perks of the office.
Those suits alone could be for as little as a thousand dollars each ($1000-N360,000). So at just a sitting alone, Mr. Wigwe would be worth or valued at not less than a million Naira and it could be far far more, when you factor in the type of wrist watch and other top scale accessories he could be wearing.
Like his predecessor, Aig-Imoukhuede, who we know for a fact as a real estate investor of no small feat, as his house, sorry exquisite home in London on a good space of land, testifies to his excellent taste and also his properties in Lagos here, in Ikoyi to be more precise adds to that impeccable taste. Mr. Wigwe too from what we hear, has some solid investments too, that would leave the mouth open in awe.
Back again to his standout style. So he likes suits a whole lot, that we see or assume to be understated, but it's only when you know that you know that those suits, are not for pikins like we have already stated above. At the annual International Polo meet that Access sponsors in London last year in 2019 to be more precis. An annual top scale charity even, where they try to raise money annually for projects for the less privileged one, his immaculate and quite colourful and cheery summery ensemble that he wore over the 2 days that he hosted guests, which included the Emir of Kano, his excellency Muhammadu Sanusi II, were a delight to behold. And a few times also, when he even ventures to wear traditional outfits, they always look quite impeccable on him too. Showing he is an all rounder stylish dude.
This exceptionally dandy banker with no equal, has actually lived true to his name, as Herbert is a name of German origin which actually refers to one that is an illustrious warrior and bright. Truth be told, this Herbert is bright.
The 53 year old lion (he is leo born on August 15) who would be 54 this year, is married with kids (4kids). He is Ikwerre from Rivers State. He has an Accountancy degree (Bachelor) from UNN, where he and Ambode met. He also has an MA (Master of Art) in Banking and Finance from the University College of North Wales and an MSc (Master of Science) in Financial Economics from the University of London. He is also an alumnus of the Harvard Business School Boston.
For the man who still has atleast 4 more years till the end of his reign/tenure as the boss of all bosses at Access Bank Plc baring all unforeseen circumstances, we are expecting to see far more innovative ideas as his institution consolidates more firmly on her position and also through this too, his own fortune would continue to rise pari passu too as the institution grows.
Maybe in the next half a decade upcoming all things being equal, the new Forbes list of the richest Nigerian around the world would have included the beautiful name Herbert Wigwe too.
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