Onyeka Onwenu’s Final Wishes for Her Burial
Veteran Nigerian singer, actress, and journalist Onyeka Onwenu, who recently passed away, had clearly expressed her wishes for a simple and private burial in a 2021 opinion piece.
In the article, Onyeka Onwenu emphasized her preference for a low-key funeral, stating: “Do it quickly, quietly, and privately.” She encouraged her loved ones to mourn her but not excessively, urging them instead to celebrate her life with prayers, cheerful moments, and by sharing jokes in her memory.
“Celebrate me with prayers, lunch or dinner afterwards. Share some jokes about me and laugh. Make merriment and then go about your business,” she wrote.
Onwenu also expressed a desire to be celebrated while she was still alive, saying, “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.”
Additionally, she criticized the extravagant displays of wealth often seen at Nigerian funerals, using the lavish burial of Obi Cubana’s mother as an example. Onwenu argued that such displays send the wrong message, particularly to young people.
“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 its garish display but besmirch the essence of a dignified burial for a woman well deserving of it.”
