After his academic pursuits, he joined the Colonial Service where he worked as a Third Class Clerk from 1952 to 1954. He then had a brief stint in the academia where he functioned as a tutor, after which he joined the Nigerian Police Force as one of the first set of cadet sub-Inspectors trained at the Ikeja Police College for 12 months. He retired from the force - of his own accord - in 1978, as a first class Commissioner.

Sam Igbe has served in several other capacities where he distinguished himself: a commissioner in the defunct Midwest Public Service Commission; Chairman of the government boards such as Midwest Transport Service (Midwest Line), Agbede Warake Farms; and on the board of the defunct Midwest Hotels. He commenced the transition to his current hallowed position in 1979, when he was inducted into the service of the Oba of Benin, Omon N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo Erediauwa, as a palace staff, advancing steadily and worthily to become the eighteenth Iyase - the chief administrator of the kingdom; the first among equals - through sheer diligence and hardwork.

Chief Igbe is a passionate sports lover who has contributed immensely to sports developments in Nigeria, serving in several capacities such as: Chairman, Nigerian Basketball Association; Secretary, the defunct Nigerian Inter-Service Games; Member of the former Nigerian Football Association (NFA); and in other stations too numerous to mention for lack of space.

Sam Igbe was a top notch footballer himself in his younger days; a no-nonsense defender of no mean repute; a threat to strikers most of who had no answers to his tireless work rate during matches. His relentless and industrious approach to the game earned him the nickname “ABILITY”; a name that depicted his all-round effectiveness on the pitch. Chief Igbe is an ardent fan of Manchester United Football club, a club he passionately supports. His love for football led him to form the then Nigerian Rubber Board Football Club; a club that later metamorphosed into Flash Flamingoes Football Club, which became one of the leading lights in Nigeria’s football development.

Chief Sam Igbe is a proven intellectual whose several impressive works can be found on the shelves of most renowned bookshops. He is an essayist, poet and satirist combined. Some of his works include: “The Nigeria of Our Dream”, “Random Thoughts” and several incisive newspaper articles and position papers on plethora of issues of national and international significance. Apart from his writings, his personal thoughts and opinions on human interest issues have inspired sterling literatures by other authors.

Sam Igbe is blessed with seven grown up independent children who are carving their own niches in the various stations they’ve been called to serve. The proud father of the incumbent speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, and a High Court Judge, Chief Sam Igbe can be said to be a fulfilled man at the ripe age of 85.

Chief Sam Igbe is an uncompromising purist, a proven administrator, an intellectual giant, a strict disciplinarian, a humanitarian per excellence, an incorruptible leader, a cultural symbol and social commentator who has reached the Olympian heights he currently occupies by dint of hard work. A man of prodigious talents, he has become the giant he is today by ruggedly and doggedly braving all the odds that were stacked against him from his early years.

Sam Igbe is the recipient of several awards, in recognition of his altruistic commitment to ameliorating the deplorable conditions of the less privileged members of the society. He is also the grand patron of several community based organizations working to complement the efforts of government, doling out large sums to support their programs. He is known to be a tireless giver who has been a shoulder for the poor to lean on in times of need.

A colossal personality whose trailblazing feats in all the stations he has occupied have become reference points – Chief Sam Odighi Udinyiwe Igbe, the eighteenth Iyase (traditional Prime Minister) of Benin Kingdom.

So, when on Saturday, the 22nd of November, 2014, the great University of Benin formally honoured Chief Sam Odighi Udinyiwe Igbe with an Honourary Degree of Doctor of Letters – D. Litt (Honoris Causa) in recognition of his tireless efforts at developing his community and society at large, it was a fitting tribute to a formidable champion who has left giant foot prints on the paths he has travelled on in the past 85 years; an honour that was due to an iconoclast whose meteoric rise to becoming the Prime Minister of the Powerful Benin Kingdom has become a reference point for intending administrators to draw inspiration from; another colourful feather in the cap of a mighty colossus in full flight. I like to join his numerous friends and well wishers in congratulating this man mountain: Congratulations, sir!