“She Took Her Kids To School Herself Every Day” — Joke Silva, Oscar Onyema Others Honor Onyeka Onwenu In Official Tribute Produced By Chude Jideonwo

 

Acting icon Joke Silva, former Managing Director of the Nigerian Stock Exchange Oscar Onyema, former President of the National Institute of Public Relations, Nkechi Alli-Balogun, among others, paid tribute to legendary singer, actress and journalist Onyeka Onwenu (MFR) during her burial in Lagos, Nigeria on Friday, August 30.

“We were at the party together, we were at the same table. At one point, while she was performing and walking around the room, she came up to me. You know, I’m a super armchair dancer. I don’t like to get up to dance, but I love dancing in my chair, and she was performing, and I loved her performance and I was dancing. So she just came into the room where I was sitting and picked me up, and we did a little pirouette,” Silva said, recalling dancing with Onwenu just before she collapsed and died in what became her final iconic performance.

“He had to fight for everything he had,” Alli-Balogun said.

“Onyeka is a woman who has worked so hard in her life. Nothing has come easy. She has worked hard, loved hard, fought hard, and connected hard. Through it all, she has triumphed. Without ever compromising her personal reputation. I mean, no matter what the payoff is, the first thing Onyeka would think about is, what would people think of me? What exactly will I get out of this? How will it impact me as a person?”

Her friend and stylist Maureen Onigbanjo spoke of Onyeka’s commitment to her family and privacy: “She became an ardent customer who turned into a friend and a sister. A few years after we met, I had my first child, and she was there for me. She brought me flowers, and she was there for his first birthday, and she brought me flowers.”

The tribute documentary was broadcast during the carol service at the headquarters of his church, Fountain of Life in Ilupeju, Lagos.

It was produced by Chude Jideonwo, host of #WithChude, which also featured Onwenu in her first major interview since the release of her memoir “My Father’s Daughter” in 2021.

Jideonwo called her “literally Nigeria’s greatest female voice and one of the greatest voices ever” as part of a series of tribute posts published over the course of 5 days after her passing.

Onwenu was buried a month after her disappearance at the Ebony Vaults, Ikoyi Cemetery, at an event attended by former presidential candidate Peter Obi, Abia State Governor Alex Otti, among others.

The burial took place in accordance with her wishes, expressed in a viral article, to be buried “quickly, quietly and privately.”

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