Disquiet in OnitshaZik’s son’s burial 0

The earlier report that President Buhari has given the nod for the Federal Government to give a befitting burial to Chukwuma Azikiwe, the first son of Nigeria’s first civilian president, Nnamdi Azikiwe, may have run into a hitch following a serious disagreement among the family members.
Saturday Sun gathered authoritatively that the late Chukwuma’s sibling, Emeka, a former ambassador, has concluded arrangement for the burial  today against the decision of other members of the family who had wished for a later date to prepare adequately and also involve the Federal Government fully.
When Saturday Sun reporter visited the Inosi Onira residence of the Azikiwe yesterday evening, a small billboard with Owelle Chukwuma’s picture and burial site was displayed in front of the gate. Some workers were also putting finishing touches to the repainted building. There was no presence of the Onitsha women group or any titled member of the Onitsha royal stool in the premises while decorations were also ongoing.
An elder member of the Azikiwe’s family, who craved anonymity, told the reporter that the whole plan was a grand design by some family members who hated Chukwuma with passion when he was alive to humiliate him even in death and bury him like a fowl. He distanced other members of the Azikiwe family from the burial plans and noted that such plans are a negation of Onitsha customs and tradition.
When confronted with the allegations, Ambassador Emeka Azikiwe told the reporter that those who are opposed to the burial plans slated for today are people who wanted to use the burial to make money. He said that he cannot fold hands and wait endlessly for the Federal Government four months after his brother’s death. He also said that the state government offered skeletal assistance in the burial plans but he is not complaining since the family can foot the bills.
Akunne Azikiwe, when contacted, also said that the Azikiwe and the larger Molokwu family met and passed a resolution that the burial plans should be shifted so that the right things are done but unfortunately, Emeka Azikiwe shunned the meetings .