By Joseph Edgar
Edgar, wait let me send you a brief. This was Herbert on Wednesday night. I had sent him a chat that Arise TV had called for me to appear to discuss issues I had raised in an earlier article on his university the Wigwe University.
This was 3am Nigerian time and he immediately started typing. I remembered laughing at how I was making such a prominent Nigerian ‘work for me’ that early in the morning.
He typed for over 15 minutes and I was losing patience, what exactly was he typing that was taking this long, I queried.
Finally the chats landed and it was a clear and concise explanation of the vision of the Wigwe University and he followed with a phone call and we talked extensively and at the end, I told him I was ready and he said ‘thanks bro’.
He had been calling me bro for a while now and it made me feel really warm. The first time I met him was as Deputy MD of Access Bank and it was the tail end of my interview run to join the Bank.
He cleared me but somehow I didn’t make it and I thank God cos if I had joined them, he would not be calling me Bro.
For the next three days, I had a series of interchange between him and Nnenna the beautiful Head of Comms for the Wigwe University delineating the seriousness with which he was taking the University.
He talked about social transformation and new leadership. Buzzwords that amongst others seriously caught my interest and I in turn pushed very strongly with fervour to the point that he said, ‘Edgar I will give your son Alvin scholarship with my son if they pass Jamb’ and I said oya O don’t change your mind.
He accepted for Wigwe University to support Awo-UK and was working towards making it one of the biggest supporters of the remarkable Play.
Herbert was simple with no airs and people simply loved him. I loved him especially for the fact that I could reach him much more easily than his people.
I used to wonder why and how it was easy to reach the GMD and not AGM or any other person around him. Those ones will be forming busy and I will be wondering why and how they were suddenly busier than the Oga who would pick and say ohhh Edgar, can I call you back.
Herbert was a beautiful human being, he was very friendly and remembered every and anybody. He would reach out and shake you as he walked towards his car.
Last time I saw him physically was at Abduls wake. I had wondered if he would speak and he spoke. He spoke so eloquently that if anybody had told me that just a month later, he would fall from the sky, I’d say fuck off.
So here was i seated at a meeting at the posh Blue Diamond Hotel in Vi with the influential Dapo Adelegan. Dapo hadn’t even come so I was alone with my phone when I noticed 5 strikingly beuatiful women who looked very rich seated across me.
One suddenly stood up with her phone and came to seat beside me and was muttering – Herbert, helicopter. I say no oooo it cannot be the same Herbert. Not the one I chatted with two nights ago.
I looked at the chats again and discovered that all my chats to him today hadn’t delivered, my heart sank and she kept muttering oh God, Herbert Helicopter.
Then another beuatiful one came and said ‘Titi kilo nshele’. Titi ignored her and walked away and this new one sat beside me and was working her phone, then she heard.
She screamed Aghhhhh. By this time, I knew there was trouble. She kept saying my son, my son, my son and her friends came to hold her – he wasn’t on board but when they left, she looked into my eyes and said – my son is on board and all I could say was sorry take heart and summoned her friends to take her home.
I immediately reached Nnena who asked me, have u heard. Have u confirmed and I said oh I was trying to confirm from you and she started crying so I dropped and sent a message to Roosevelt, MD Access and he said no confirmations that we shd keep prayin.
Then the five women all burst into tears as the confirmation came in. Cold took over my body and I saw his face as he greeted me on his way out of Abdul’s wake keeping
Life is a bitch. It takes the very best with so much drama. Which one is drop from the sky in the desert why not peacefully in his bed like the peaceful loving man that he was.
Jehovah, you see your son Herbert, I know you have a purpose for him so we can not query you, sha well done, you really try this time.
Darkness descends. Kai.
Joseph Edgar first published this on SIL Platform.