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Son of famous journalist and Vice Chairman of Sun Publishing Limited, Mr. Dimgba Igwe, Miracle Igwe, on Saturday said his father has died at a time he needed him to celebrate his call to bar at the Nigerian Law School.
Miracle went on his Facebook page to say, “I cannot stop crying. Darkness has befallen on me. Daddy, you died when I just needed you to celebrate my call to Nigerian bar as a barrister after all the money you pumped into my life.
“Daddy! Daddy!! I can’t believe it that your journey is so brief. I am sincerely frozen at this tragedy that has befallen us. But only God knows how to twist his hands to wipe dry our tears. I love you so much.”
The veteran journalist died on Saturday morning after he was knocked down by a vehicle while jogging around his residence in Okota area of Lagos State.
Igwe, who was said to have sustained a fatal injury from the accident, died immediately after undergoing a surgery at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital.
The late journalist, aged 58, had also served as the Deputy Managing Director and Deputy Editor-in- Chief of the Sun Newspapers.
Igwe was, until his death, the Assistant General Overseer of the Evangel Pentecostal Church, Lagos.
Meanwhile, President Goodluck Jonathan, media practitioners and prominent Nigerians have described the news of his death as shocking.
Jonathan said Igwe would always be remembered as “a hardworking and dependable professional, who, through his various writings as columnist, author and public speaker, demonstrated a special ability to convey the truth and his convictions in lucid, compelling prose, and in a style that was shorn of cant and foppery.”
In a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, Jonathan urged Igwe’s friends and associates to be consoled by the knowledge that “he put his God-given abilities to the best possible use in a very purposeful life that was wholly devoted to the defence of truth and the public interest, as well as the promotion of the highest standards of his chosen profession of journalism.”
A former governor of Abia State and Chairman of Sun Publishing Limited, Dr. Orji Kalu, expressed shock on receiving the news of the incident. He described Saturday as the darkest day in the history of the organisation.
A former Ogun State Governor and ex-Managing Director of the Daily Times, Olusegun Osoba, said, “His death has taught me another lesson of life; a terrible lesson of life. We were together in Katsina for the editors’ conference up till last weekend. He even collected a copy of Ovie Kokori’s autobiography from me and he promised to use it in his column; he promised to see me this week. I never knew it was a parting gift.”
Miracle Igwe
Also, the Publisher, LEADERSHIP Newspapers, Sam Nda-Isaiah, who spoke with our correspondent on Saturday, described the death as a tragedy.
“It is a very sad news. His relationship with Mike Awoyinfa is a very strong union many of us were proud of. I commiserate with family and twin brother (Awoyinfa),” he said.
The President, Nigerian Guild of Editors, Mr. Femi Adesina, described Igwe’s death as devastating, while speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria.
He said, “It is very sad. It is a colossal loss to journalism. He was a very dedicated journalist; a general of the guild and an impeccable writer.
“At our last conference in Katsina, he contributed a lot and was one of the discussants in a paper. To hear that he is dead one week after is indeed devastating,” he said.
In his reaction, a former Editor of the Daily Times, Areoye Oyebola, described the death as a sad occurrence at a time when the coming generation of journalists would need his experience and skill to sustain the industry.
Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola (SAN) described Igwe as trailblazer, who, along with Awoyinfa, pioneered “a refreshing brand of newspapering with the Weekend Concord.”
The governor described the death as a sad loss to the journalism profession in particular and the literary world in general.
Similarly, his Oyo State counterpart, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, recalled Igwe’s “deep, incisive and fluid” commentaries.
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