Dimbga Igwe: A tribute

“A car ran into our Vice Chairman, Mr Dimmgba Igwe, while he was jogging this morning. Sadly, he died later in the hospital. May his soul rest in peace, Amin”. Adesina’s sms was indeed terse but severe in its import.Apparently, I was one of the very few people to be informed. That was under-standable: among […]

“A car ran into our Vice Chairman, Mr Dimmgba Igwe, while he was jogging this morning. Sadly, he died later in the hospital. May his soul rest in peace, Amin”. Adesina’s sms was indeed terse but severe in its import.
Apparently, I was one of the very few people to be informed. That was under-standable: among other accomplishments, DI (as I affectionately called him) was a leading member of the Vienna-based International Press Institute (IPI). It was my lot as the Secretary of the IPI Nigerian National Committee to break the news to the IPI Headquarters in Vienna and, more disturbingly, to our members in Nigeria who were all so close to DI.
The sad news instantly transformed me into a passive participant at the 50th birthday of kwara’s former first lady, Barr. Toyin Saraki.
Kabiru Yusuf, Chair of IPI Nigeria, away on IPI duties in Vienna, received the news from me calmly but his agony was evident in his response. Malam Mohammed Haruna, who was driving when I hit him with the news, screamed. Former Governor Olusegun Osoba was in Ilorin for Mrs Saraki’s birthday but I could not inform him until he was leaving the banquet hall. Aremo was so distraught, lamenting, like Malam Haruna, that he was with Dimgba only last week at the NGE Annual Conference in Katsina. I couldn’t attend the NGE conference because of transport scheduling difficulties but it is apparent that our colleagues came in contact with DI last at that conference. Ever so punctual, I was told he was the first to register at the conference. My elder brother and executive director of News Agency of Nigeria(Marketing and Lagos Operations), Chief Jide Adebayo, told me he and Dimgba sat together on the flight from Lagos to Katsina and the deceased was typically professionally engaging all through the flight.
I have fond memories of DI especially in IPI. For the past 18 years, I had hardly missed the annual World Congress and General Assembly of IPI. DI and his “twin brother”, Mr Mike Awoyinfa, were my constant soul mates there. Only last April, we were together at the 2014 World Congress in Cape Town, South Africa. We had planned to attend the 2015 World Congress in an obscure place in Asia that only DI knew and volunteered to lead us to.
IPI World Congresses are usually some form of holiday for most Nigerian members. But not so for Dimgba and his twin. Yes, they often went on post-Congress tours but they never missed the real business of the Congress and the General Assembly.
For Dimgba and Awoyinfa, the Congresses were a veritable hunting ground for scoops. Their reporter’s instincts heightened whenever they spotted celebrities or newsmakers.  While other delegates fell over themselves for photo opportunities with the VIPs, Dimgba and Awoyinfa would lay ambush for interviews.
During a condolence visit to the family residence in Lagos on Monday, I couldn’t comfort Mrs Dimgba enough. She was too much part of the deceased, a constant companion of her husband at IPI World Congresses.
The grief in IPI is enormous. The Nigerian National Committee lamented the loss of “its distinguished member and media icon.” IPI Director, Ms Alison McKenzie bemoaned the “very, very sad news” of the exit of “such a great guy, “I will miss seeing him,” McKenzie added. Ms Christiane Klint, IPI Manager (Membership and Global Relationship) who has more than a two-decade old close relationship with Nigerian IPI members, was equally inconsolable:” “Dimgba will be missed by the IPI Community,” Klint said.
The Nigerian media community is the greater loser of this quintessential, all-rounded reporter, editor, media manager, columnist, author and publisher. But it is consoling to me that the tributes that have poured in since the tragic news indicate that DI will continue to be remembered and celebrated for a long time to come. Rest in peace, my dear brother, an authentic media hero.

Raheem Adedoyin, Secretary, IPI Nigeria National Committee