Following her recent passing, the burial wishes of renowned Nigerian singer Onyeka Onwenu, which were described in a 2021 opinion piece for Premium Times, have resurfaced online.
It may be recalled that VISIOTALKS reported that Onyeka Onwenu died on the night of July 30 at Reddington Hospital in Lagos.
The seasoned singer expressed her preferences for her final resting place in her editorial for 2021. Her instructions, which have come into focus following her passing, call for a simple and private farewell.
In her request for a low-key funeral, Onyeka Onwenu instructed her loved ones to “mourn, yes, but not excessively.”
She said that rather than elaborate ceremonies, she would rather be honored with prayers, shared meals, and laughter.
“Celebrate me with prayers, lunch or dinner afterwards. Share some jokes about me and laugh.
“Make merriment and then go about your business. If my friends want to celebrate me, they should do so while I am alive, so that I can enjoy it with them, not when I am gone and have no idea about this. That is me, Onyeka Onwenu,” she said.
Onyeka Onwenu used the opulent funeral of Obi Cubana’s mother as a contrast to her own preferences in her editorial, where she also criticized the extravagant nature of some Nigerian funerals.
“The arguments of Obi Cubana’s supporters make sense on some level but I disagree on one major point. The incredibly lavish and outrageously expensive burial of the century sent all the wrong signals to the world, including the young people of Nigeria. For me, it did nothing in it’s garish display but besmirch the essence of a dignified burial for a woman well deserving of it.”
