By Baron Ike
It was a show of shame for the former Governor of Imo State, Senator Rochas Okorocha and his in-laws, the Anwukas, as the burial ceremony of Justice Christy Anwuka, wife of the former minister of education (state), Prof. Anthony Anwuka, became an avenue to rain insults on the guests and the officiating priest, His Grace, Most Rev. Anthony Obinna.
What ordinarily would have been a sombre burial church with all the bottled-up emotional disposition on the part of the bereaved was at the weekend at Oguta, turned into a political campaign for Okorocha where the former governor’s son in-law, Dr. Uzo Anwuka, threw caution to the winds, and resorted to insulting Archbishop Obinna for drawing his attention to the existing church service protocol.
Archbishop Obinna had invited the junior Anwuka to give a vote of thanks on behalf of his family.
Armadanews.com gathered that Dr. Uzo who wanted to use the opportunity of the burial service to undermine the position of Governor Hope Uzodimma, ably represented by his deputy, Prof. Placid Njoku, openly attacked Archbishop Obinna when the latter politely told him that it was not his responsibility to invite the deputy governor to the alter to speak on behalf of the government, a development that got Prof. Anwuka’s son irritated and he never failed to seize the opportunity to insult the priest and other persons who tried in vain to calm him down.
Not even Prof. Anwuka plea to his son to take his eat and allow the priest continue with his moderation could sway him.
Earlier when Dr. Uzo mounted the alter, he bored the audience with praises for Okorocha for giving his family $100,000 to take care of their mum when she was on admission in the hospital overseas as well as to plan for her burial when she died.
Apparently speaking to the delight of rented crowd of cheer leaders who came to goad him on, Anwuka junior completely lost track of the reason the guests had gathered at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church Egbuoma, in Oguta local government area of Imo State and tried to turn the burial service to a political meeting where after speaking, decided on his own to invite the deputy governor to react to most of the garbage he vomited before Archbishop Obinna called him to order.
Throughout the remaining part of the church service and even at the reception, the unbecoming demeanour of the junior Anwuka was the talk of the town as his father and the Okorochas who obviously got drenched in shame were seen complaining bitterly about what transpired.
It took the wise comments from Prof. Njoku on behalf of thye government of Imo State who felt totally dismayed to get the congregation to remain focused on the reason for their coming to Oguta, which was primarily to commiserate with the family of the deceased.