I believe that Bishop and pastors, or so called “men of God” should focused on the teachings of the Bible and spirituality when it comes to public funerals, rather than making nonsensical political speeches and taking senseless positions on municipal issues.
I watched as demonstrative eulogies poured in yesterday at the commendation service organized in honor of the former vice president, late Dr. Alex Ekwueme, at the Michael Okpara Square in Enugu. It was a memorable event, which by all standard is merited for someone who served his country at an executive capacity.
However, another moment that caught my attention was the sermon by the Archbishop of Enugu Ecclesiastical Province and Bishop of Anglican Diocese of Enugu, the Most Rev Dr. Emmanuel Chukwuma, hitting hard on Nigerian politicians, and accusing them of being self-centered and so on.
He claimed Nigeria’s filthy politics negated the kind of politics the late Ekwueme played while he was alive – telling the audience that the legion of politicians who were present at the service were playing politics of personal aggrandizement and disgrace. Now this is where “Big D” differs. It’s simply, a wrong speech at the wrong time.
I believe that Bishop and pastors, or so called “men of God” should focused on the teachings of the Bible and spirituality when it comes to public funerals, rather than making nonsensical political speeches and taking senseless positions on municipal issues.
And even as the lavish burial raved on, my only concern was the economic value of spending a Billion Naira to buried a past leader in a society or State where citizens are dying of hunger and cannot afford three basic meals a day.
Again, if I may ask? As a seating Vice president, what federal projects did Chief Ekwueme bring to the Eastern Region for the State to give him such a lavishing burial? And to make it worse, this state government closed down schools while they honored this leader.
By the way, I was in the Eastern Nigeria when Chief Ekwueme was the Vice President and there were no new federal roads built; no federal public buildings, libraries, or even federal hospitals established. When he finally left office, he invested in hotel business called Modotels as his family business. I have heard the argument about how he changed his hometown, Oko, but for goodness sake, this was the Vice President of Nigeria, not Oko.
My take is that Nigerian people are easily gullible, too easily influenced and misled, not by the facts, rather by emotional additions. As an economist, it is my professional opinion that spending a Billion Naira to bury a past leader in a state where the population is hungry is absurd, economically insane and abuse of state resources. If you have issues with my thoughts, hit me back with your own reflections.
♦ Ikeogu (Big D), an economist, writes from Minnesota
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