Julius Okorie
Elegant Stallion and musical icon Onyeka Onwenu has joined her ancestors.
The shocking news broke early Wednesday morning 31st July, 2024. “The One love Keep us Together” exponent reportedly slumped at the birthday of Mrs Stella Okoli and was immediately rushed to Reddington Hospital where she failed to make it.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelShe was not just a musician but also an activist who was fearless in speaking truth to power not minding whose ox is gored. Three years ago while in an opinion peace she wrote for Premium Times, she appeared not only to have looked beyond the present to accept the fact that death is a necessary end which will come when it will come but also gave directive on how she should be buried when eventually the inevitable happens.
“Do it quickly, quietly and privately,” Onwenu wrote in an opinion piece on Premium Times in 2021, emphasising that her burial should be devoid of unnecessary fanfare.
She urged her loved ones to “mourn, yes but not excessively,” and to instead focus on celebrating her life with prayers and light-hearted moments.
“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.
READ ALSO: 12 Things To Know About Nigerian Iconic Singer, Onyeka Onwenu
Despite her wish for “quick and quiet burial” and her hatred and condemnation of lavish funeral celebration in the midst of poverty in the neighbourhood, it is not likely that Onyeka who has a finger in every pie featuring in film, advocacy, politics and journalism to mention just a few will get her wish in toto. The reason is because a golden fish has no hiding place and with the lives she touched, the dusts she raised, the accolades she garnered in the course of her life, her funeral cannot be celebrated in a jiffy.
Why The Elegant Stallion May Not Get quiet Burial
Even the burial will not be as quiet as she wants as crème dela crème of the society both within the country and outside, across political and social divides will want to pay their last respect and celebrate her life afterwards and those celebrations cannot be that quiet because like they say, “an Iroko does not fall without a large sound.”
The broadcaster who hails from Arondizuogu in Ideato North of Imo State, was equally superb in showcasing her acting talent featuring in many films including Ije Awele, Half of a Yellow Sun, Rising Moon and Lion Heart among others. Certainly the elegant Stallion will definitely be missed.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
