"How I Want To Be Buried When I Die" - Onyeka Onwenu Reveals

 

Onyeka Onwenu, a veteran Nollywood actress and singer, has explained how she wants her funeral to be handled when she passes away.

She claims she does not desire an expensive or high-profile burial, preferring instead to be buried quickly, discreetly, and privately, away from the public eye.

Onyeka Onwenu said that her late mother's final wish for an elaborate and expensive burial was realized. But, in her case she would prefer a quiet and simple funeral with prayers, followed by lunch or dinner.

She disclosed this in a note sent to PremiumTimes.

“I told a friend just days before the most outrageous burial of Innyom Ezinne Uche Iyiegbu in Oba, Anambra State in July that I had given my family instructions on how to bury me when my time comes. Do it quickly, quietly, and privately. Celebrate me with prayers, lunch, or dinner afterward. Share some jokes about me and laugh. Mourn, yes, but not excessively. 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.

“My mother, on the other hand, wanted a different burial and I promised to give her want she wanted. On her hospital bed, just three days before she passed away, I reinforced that promise – it was important to her and she died knowing that I would keep my word. Hope Onwenu’s burial was nothing like what took place in Oba recently but it was elaborate and pretty expensive. Still, I had the satisfaction that I kept my promise.

“The point I make here is that there are different strokes for different folks, even within a family. I do not condemn anyone for how they mourn, with their hard-earned money but I am very uncomfortable with a lavish display of wealth on any occasion, especially in a time of hardship and lack for most others. 

"The burial of Obi Cubana’s mother was not only lavish, it was obscene and insensitive. It sent all the wrong signals at a time when Nigeria is wracked with widespread poverty and a lack.