Tony Chukwunyem 
The life of Herbert Wigwe (15 August 1966 – 10 February 2024), the departed Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings Plc, shows how effective risk-taking can separate the men from the boys with regard to entrepreneurship. Upon graduation from the University of Nigeria, where he studied Accounting he joined the Lagos office of the audit firm Coopers and Lybrand (which merged with Price Waterhouse to form PwC) where he trained as a management consultant before qualifying as a chartered accountant. Wigwe left consulting for the banking industry and rose to become Executive Director, Institutional Banking at GT Bank after ten years at the bank.
In 2002, Wigwe and a colleague from GTB, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, teamed up to arrange what would later turn out to be one of the most significant deals in the history of Nigeria’s banking, buying a stake in Access Bank which ranked only 65th by asset out of Nigeria’s then 89 banks. The pair chose an inorganic growth strategy to grow the financial institution into one of Nigeria’s biggest banks in the next two decades. After trying unsuccessfully to acquire the defunct Afribank in 2006, they succeeded in acquiring then major lender, Intercontinental Bank PLC, which made Access Bank Nigeria’s fourth-largest bank.
Wigwe, who became CEO and Group Managing Director of Access Bank in January 2014 also spearheaded the merger of the bank with Diamond Bank in 2019 to build a new entity that became the largest bank by total assets in the industry.
Organic growth
Responding to a question on why Access Bank seemed to prefer the inorganic growth strategy of either acquiring a bank or merger in an interview with Arise TV in December 2018, Wigwe had said: “We have a very unique history and at the time we came into running Access Bank, it was a very little bank and it was clear to us that organic growth was not the only way for us to get to where we wanted to get to. “And so we knew that inorganic growth was the best way for us to pursue for us to become one of the strongest and largest banks in the country.
If you look all over the world, the top five banks in every country typically control 75 to 80 per cent of the market share and that is how it is in the United Kingdom, the United States, etc. And so for us, we were certain and bent on ensuring that we had that kind of scale and scale is critical. So for us, getting to that kind of scale is something we are extremely proud of and the fact that over time, we have been able to build significant experience as far as mergers and acquisitions are concerned, is one we are extremely proud of. I don’t think there is any Nigerian bank that has gone through as much mergers as we have. There is been strong learning points and there has also been weaknesses and areas where we have made mistakes and I think today, we are far finer than ever before and just from the skills we have developed over time.”
Progress under Wigwe’s leadership
For eight years until May 2022, Wigwe led Access Bank Plc as its Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer through an extraordinary growth period, during which the bank expanded its footprint across Africa and adopted cutting-edge technology and digital banking solutions.
Today, Access Corporation operates through a network of more than 600 branches and service outlets, spanning three continents, 18 countries, and 50+ million customers managed by over 28,000 employees. Access Bank, the Corporation’s banking business, is one of Africa’s largest retail banks by customer base and total assets. In 2023, Dr. Wigwe embarked on a transformative journey by founding Wigwe University. With a vision to ignite Africa’s potential for prosperity and nurture fearless leaders who will change the course of history, the educational institution is set to rival top universities around the world.
Wigwe believed that education is the key to unlocking Africa’s potential and through Wigwe University, he sought to leave a legacy that will contribute immensely to the continent’s greatness. He envisioned Wigwe University as a beacon of knowledge, innovation, and excellence, designed to empower future leaders and contribute to the socio-economic advancement of the continent. This endeavor represents his profound dedication to shaping a brighter future for Africa, making education the cornerstone of his enduring legacy. Commenting on Wigwe’s passing in an interview with Arise TV on Monday, founder of Stanbic IBTC, Atedo Peterside, citing the university, said that the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings Plc, had a purpose to make more major contributions in Nigeria beyond the banking sector, prior to his death.
He said: “I now see that it is as if the purpose of his life was not just to build a bank, but to build a bank, pull resources from there, develop bigger ideas and focus on where he thought he would make a major contribution in terms of showing us a path that we can have a world class university. The team that he put together; my guess is that they will now be more committed than ever because they now realize it is a phenomenal trust.
Wigwe’s University and solid foundation
“After his passing, it gave me the opportunity to piece together all our discussions through these various things that ranged from art to banking, to aviation and all and begin to piece together the things he said and did not say, what we discussed and where that is leading me. The final thing he mentioned in the areas he was involved in is the university. It was his latest big project. When some people pass away like this, especially when there is more than one in the family, the first instinct is to start try ing to make sense of it.
“To help myself, I focused on the what ifs. What if the purpose that Herbert lived for was the purpose he discovered? What if his life was about building the bank successfully and using that to do what nobody else did? He was clear. He wanted a world class institution in Nigeria. Some people may think that he didn’t bring that dream to reality. It depends on what you think the purpose of someone is. I think the most important thing about the university was to conceive the idea, choose the location and then choose the partners. “If you notice, he chose various people to work with him on that project. He created evidence and some of them are on video. So, I now see that it is as if the purpose of his life was not just to build a bank, but to build a bank, pull resources from there, develop bigger ideas and focus on where he thought he would make a major contribution in terms of showing us a path that we can have a world class university. The team that he put together; my guess is that they will now be more committed than ever because they now realize it is a phenomenal trust.” “After his passing, it gave me the opportunity to piece together all our discussions through these various things that ranged from art to banking, to aviation and all and begin to piece together the things he said and did not say, what we discussed and where that is leading me.
The final thing he mentioned in the areas he was involved in is the university. It was his latest big project. When some people pass away like this, especially when there is more than one in the family, the first instinct is to start trying to make sense of it. “To help myself, I focused on the what ifs. What if the purpose that Herbert lived for was the purpose he discovered? What if his life was about building the bank successfully and using that to do what nobody else did? He was clear. He wanted a world class institution in Nigeria. Some people may think that he didn’t bring that dream to reality. It depends on what you think the purpose of s o m e o n e is. I think the most important thing about the university was to conceive the idea, choose the location and then choose the partners. “If you notice, he chose various people to work with him on that project. He created evidence and some of them are on video. So, I now see that it is as if the purpose of his life was not just to build a bank, but to build a bank, pull resources from there, develop bigger ideas and focus on where he thought he would make a major contribution in terms of showing us a path that we can have a world class university.
The team that he put together; my guess is that they will now be more committed than ever because they now realize it is a phenomenal trust.” Peterside also noted that given his various contributions and impact in Nigeria, there is a possibility that other people with the resources will start replicating his good works. “Now, what is the significance of him doing all that for Nigeria? You and I know that Nigeria does not have, with due respect to our universities, world class institutions, so if he succeeded in bringing that idea to fruition in one place; River state, there is a possibility that others will now replicate. “It might motivate more people with even more resources to say if Herbert could do this, what is stopping me from doing it in Maiduguri, Umuahia or even Oyo. So, this might be the beginning of something great. “Globally, there are two kinds of wealthy people. Some people are wealthy and they want that money to keep it and nurture it. Some other people believe that the wealth that came their way through hard work or whatever, is a means to an end. They were supposed to use it for a greater purpose. I think Herbert was clearly of that type. “Till now, we are talking about banking, but if you talk to the people in the art sector, some of them will argue that Herbert’s biggest contribution to Nigeria Is in the development of the art. If you now talk to the athletes, they will ask you who knew about the Lagos marathon before now?”
