“You cannot plant greatness as you plant yams or maize. Whoever planted an Iroko tree…the greatest tree in the forest? You may collect all the Iroko seeds in the world, open the soil and put them there, it will be in vain. The Iroko tree chooses where to grow and we find it there…So it is with the greatness of men.” And so it was with our lion of the forest and father of all nations: – Admiral, Agbavuokhai Okhai Ikhumhi, Michael Akhigbe (GCON).
After 730 days of your departure, it is still very difficult to refer or think of you as late; your ever bubbling and genial personality was the very epitome of life itself. Yes, if I were to face reality of life I will never hear that familiar gist or noise in the town that “Admiral is around or let wait for Admiral that always spread like hamattan fire in Fugar whenever there seemed to be problem in the community you cherished so much. A man who was so passionately committed to anything that he was called to do. A man who singlehandedly put Fugar community in the map and history of Nigeria. In fact words are insufficient to describe you.
It’s about two years (730days) that you passed on from this mortal world to the great beyond “how time flies” The void created by your transition is astronomically disastrous and colossal; though, the loss of a loved one leaves a deep chasm to be mourned and a wound to be healed; we remain comforted with the message from (Ecclesiastics 3:1-6) “that for everything there is a season; and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to weep and a time to laugh…a time to keep and a time to let go”
Admiral Akhigbe was indeed a “great” person, aware of the extraordinary chance, talent and potential that God has bestowed on him to do the best and to do his best! Throughout his life, he did his best, from his early years, he had the vision and compassion to serve, such was his commitment to humanity. As someone once said, “what we do flows from what we are” Admiral Okhai was a unique, kind, compassionate and meticulous personality. His knowledge base was vast, extending beyond his professional background. Admiral was a voracious and ardent reader, a conversationist who with deep humility engaged his audience with rich reflections and experience. His greatness as a person is perhaps best captured by the tributes from people around the world.
Nigeria and the world as a whole lost a great man”…we have never met a better politician, mythologist, historian, discussant and at the same time a great navigator and sailor. You are a hero and a legend, born of a mortal and divine parents, you were endowed with great courage and strength, you were known for bold exploits and favored by the gods. You were noted for feats of courage and nobility of purpose. You risked and sacrificed your life for service to humanity.
Admiral Akhigbe was an ambassador of good leadership, a distinguished officer, a principled gentleman, an ambassador of social justice, a populist, a reformist, a great man of peace and wisdom, a disciplined man, a man who is capable of inflicting an injury without hurting a person, a man of excellence in all his endeavors, a man of extra ordinary potential and knowledge, a military democrat and democrat per excellence, a man who built bridges across parallel lines, a man without borders, the man who built the longest bridge as administrator of Lagos state, a tireless general who trends and had victories where others feared to trend, the most fearless amongst them all, a professional to the core, a man well respected for his brilliance and truthfulness, a man of records of fearlessness and
Fugar community and indeed Etsako Central Local Government Council have taken consolation in the fact that “precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His faithful ones. What is more is that “earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal,” so held Thomas Moore. It is certainly so, for we have been assured that God will destroy death forever and when that happens, He, the Lord. God will wipe away all the tears from all faces, when all pains and humiliation of death are annihilated and replaced by the very inestimability of eternal peace and rest that are part and parcel of the perfect constitution of the blessed immortality.
Late Vice Admiral Mike Okhai Akhigbe carried an ethereal personification of the navy, so much so that the sobriquet Admiral fitted him like a second nature. He was a very brilliant human being. A cerebral intellectual. Not given to much frivolity and suffered not fools gladly. He was indeed a Gentleman and an officer”. Like all mortals, he had his own share of weakness, so to speak, but his strong points and positives far outweigh the former. He was a genuine and loving family man as lavished love on his wife and children. Most profound was his deep patriotic sense of community development. He was passionate about the progress of our nation and our people. No wonder, he was always willing to render service towards the advancement of our nation and wherever he served our fatherland, he distinguished himself excellently.
We feel even more pained now after 730 days that the cold hands of death snatched you away our illustrious son, dependable community leader from us at a time when both Fugar community and the country Nigeria and its leadership are in dire need of men of your caliber to serve as a rallying point for the re-affirmation of our collective destiny as well as sustenance of our collective change we all desire, which you too greatly helped to bring about in 1999.
It was also on record that in all his public and private capacities that he served spanning over more than three decades, late Admiral Akhigbe distinguished himself as a disciplined and fearless military officer and administrator, a political leader and patriot, who discharge his duties creditably and left huge imprint in the sands of time.
His track record, as a former military governor of Lagos and old Ondo states, and as Chief of Naval Staff and Chief of General Staff was remarkably indelible. His death, no doubt has robbed us of one of the brightest minds. Indeed, we all owe him a great debt of gratitude for his invaluable contributions to the political, social and economic development of our nation.
It is said good men must die, but death cannot kill their names. This also reminded me of one of the Bob Marley’s song when you live for yourself you live in vein but when you live for others you die to live again. The name of late Vice Admiral Mike Okhai Akhigbe will forever remain on our lips as he has lived his life for others.
For us in Fugar community in particular, the death of our hero is a monumental loss. He was a dependable pillar of support in all areas to the general existence of the community and had remained so till the end but today, Fugar community is like a sheep without shepherd and a tree without taproot as there is no longer rally point man in the community but we believe that his large-heartedness and sense of purpose will continue to inspire us in our quest for progress and development of our land.
Yes, it has done on us that after 730 days of your demise and the vacuum created in Fugar community is yet to be filled by anybody as those who attempt or try to or assume the leadership position of the community have failed us as they are nowhere to match your quality leadership style exhibited while you were alive as you were born to be a leader.