Head of Nigerian Bank Dies in Tragic Helicopter Crash in United States

The co-founder of Access Bank, a prominent Nigerian bank, and five others were tragically killed in a helicopter crash in California. Herbert Wigwe, his wife, son, and a former president of the Nigerian stock exchange were among the victims. President Bola Tinubu expressed his deep sorrow and described the incident as an overwhelming tragedy. Authorities are currently investigating the crash in the southern California desert to determine its cause. The helicopter, which was chartered, was en route from Palm Springs to Boulder City when it went down about 96km (60 miles) from Las Vegas. Reports indicate that Wigwe, who was 57 years old and an avid sports fan, was heading to Las Vegas to attend the Super Bowl. The crash site near Nipton, on the edge of the Mojave Desert Preserve, experienced poor weather conditions with rain and snow showers. Mr. Wigwe founded Access Bank in 1989 and it became Nigeria's largest bank in 2018 after acquiring its main competitor, Diamond Bank. In recent years, he had been focused on expanding the bank's presence across the continent, acquiring banks in other African countries as well as planning to launch a banking service in Asia. Tributes have poured in following his untimely death, with President Tinubu expressing shock and the president's office describing it as a terrible blow to Nigeria and Africa's banking industry. Mr. Wigwe was also an advocate for investing in higher education as a means to address mass migration, and he had plans to establish his own educational institution, Wigwe University, in Nigeria. The university was scheduled to launch in September in the Niger Delta region, where Mr. Wigwe hailed from.