No death of a beloved one comes with cheers and glass clinking in an instant, though there may be much more of it during funeral regardless.
At first, the news of such death in itself generates emotional jolts , causing in some cases momentary paralysis .
As seconds rolled into minutes, minutes into hours and hours into days and weeks, human nature in its adaptation strategy begins to come to par with such reality, creating a coping mechanism to move on, though not everyone moves on without feeling such pains with a tearful eyes once in a while.
Next time one breaks down with tears, sobbing in a breath ceasing manner , caring less the runny nose is when the corpse is lowered and the chunks of red soil hit the coffin, driving home the sad reality of the end of the deceased in this transient world.
Oh death! You come with a blow; always in an unexpected manner, when the very life, presence and companion of the deceased are most cherished and adored.
You come in coldness, sneaking, when nobody thought about you, causing grief and pains, off you go , looking for another victim like a roaring lion.
We are all in your list oh death! One day we will all be your victim. But we didn’t know the name of Mama Uchechi Ebere was close, top on your list perhaps. Like a bang you hit and snatched, leaving many eyes red with tears.
Watching the burial ceremonies of Mama Uchechi Stella Ebere one cannot but stand in great awe and admiration, for the very sense of class and grace that defined it were at best breathtaking.
It left that mark of admiration on it , very enviable, a path many would wish to toe for their loved ones or for themselves when death comes.
It only takes a good and befitting burial like that of Ezinne Uchechi for one to regret not burying loved ones befittingly enough or wishes to burial them in similar manner when they pass on.
Mcdonald and his siblings no doubt left a deep mark in many memories with their mother’ burial. It wasn’t a show of class. Never! It was neither a flaunting galore nor a showmanship of funeral extravaganza. No! It was undoubtedly a show of love and a definition of the very special place their deceased mother enjoys in their hearts.
It was more than a befitting burial, more like a golden etch in people’s memories, a paint on the canvas of the human subconscious and a template for lack of better description on how handy good quivers( Children) can be in moments like this .
Her life was very amazing, filled with pleasant moments and memories as memorable and classic as her funeral.
In life they loved her. In death they love her too, burying her under the eyes and aura of who is who both in the civil and religious circles in Imo State and beyond though not unprecedented but in itself a deep statement.
Nothing could be consoling than the fulfilment of giving ones parents the best life offers and more consoling when they die and their funeral turned into a cynosure of incomparable show of love and affection.
I know dead people see and hear, the various cases of those who failed to give their parents the basic burial requirements but shared and ate in gluttony from others and the eventually calamities that befell them show clearly that the dead see.
If the above Igbo belief system is anything close to truth, Ezinne Uchechi Ebere did not only see her funeral turned carnival, she equally heard the eulogies knitted around her lifestyle in a bouquet of rose flowers of amazing fragrance.
In life her children made her shine like a diamond, in death the made her still glow and dazzle like a diamond under a glittering light.
Life is too short no matter the number of years lived, one day we must all fall, laying spine , facing heaven caring less what the world around us holds.
Mama Stella Uchechi is gone! Her funeral gone too! But the memories of her either gives her children smile for a good life they offered her or flushes of regret for failing to be a good and responsible children and friend. The former is the case here.
Rest in peace Dame, Ezinne Uchechi Ebere. If in the world of the dead, BUGA is allowed, one wonders the grace and feline gait you will dance it, for indeed your children turned your funeral into a BUGA extraordinary; making death and funeral very enviable.
*In loving memory of Ezinne Uchechi Ebere, the beloved mother of Imo State APC party Chairman Hon. Macdonald Ebere Phd. My friend and class mate*.
Jarlath Uche Opara
Jarlathuche@gmail.come
