The burial of Obi Cubana’s Mother was obscene and insensitive – Oyenka Owenu

The Nigerian music veteran Onyeka Onwenu has blasted the lavish burial the Lagos socialite Obi Iyiegbu also known as Obi Cubana held for his late mother.

In an article she wrote on premium times the Singer stated that the burial ceremony was Obscene and insensitive, as it sends wrong signals at a time when Nigeria is wracked with widespread poverty and lack.

I do not condemn anyone for how they mourn, with their hard-earned money but I am very uncomfortable with 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 lack, she wrote.

She stated that her outrage became was less intense because as Obi Cubana and his friends stole nobody’s money to do what they did, noting that reactions from people on social media concerning was extreme and mindless as Obi Cubana and his friends did not invent the art of spraying, neither are they the first to show off stupendous wealth in a wild celebration of any kind.

But so long as he and his supportive friends stole nobody’s money to do what they did, my outrage has abated. I will not call for them to be hanged on the stake as some have done. These reactions have been extreme and just as mindless as the conspicuous display of wealth we witnessed at the burial ceremony. Obi Cubana and his friends did not invent the art of spraying, neither are they the first to show off stupendous wealth in a wild celebration of any kind. But in an age of invasive social media, our senses are instantly bombarded with images of sheer madness, where caution is thrown to the wind and we are regaled with images of sheer debauchery. We ask: Is this all necessary?

She further stated that the Igbo culture in which she grew up in does not condone the conspicuous display of wealth, but things changed after the Nigeria/Biafra Civil war in 1967, she noted that many of the Igbos were deprived of their money and their property during that period, and many were forced to rebuild with no help or compensation, then the Igbo community became every man to himself.

I condemn it all. It does not reflect the Igbo culture that I grew up in. Ndigbo would not condone the conspicuous display of wealth. If you were found doing that, your close and extended family, your community would send a delegation to you, to ask about the source of the wealth you are throwing about. You would be ostracised if you have no convincing evidence of legitimate work.

All that changed at the end of the Nigeria/Biafra conflict. Ndigbo were deprived of their money, their oil wells and towns excised from Imo and Abia States, their properties termed ‘abandoned’ and taken from them. They were forced to rebuild with no help and no compensation. It, therefore, became every person to themselves. Having money meant that you could get things done and like every other Nigeria society, our priorities were turned upside down. People no longer asked how and where you got your money. The point was that you had it. Our values may have been eroded but we have to fight back to regain them, to ensure our survival as the decent and hardworking people that we truly are.