“Onyeka held down the room with her dramatic emergence from the back of the room and her engaging voice, keeping us all on our feet, gyrating and dancing, first lady inclusive.”
She mounted the stage, shoulders high in her signature low cut and a flowing black and white Kaftan—her latest brand definition, the Kaftan. She floated from the stage to the floor, her voice sweet and guttural all at once, belting out one of her more famous songs, “One Love.” Onyeka Onwenu in full flight is beautiful to behold. The audience lapped up her rhythm, her unique dance steps, eyes shut in parts, and her traditional move into the audience for engagement and participation of the audience, pulling one or two persons up to dance with her.
Add that to her head being thrown back as the beat gets her and her ability to conduct her band to change direction with a fist in the air. She gets her band to suddenly stop mid-trajectory and, turning around, bring them back up with one familiar hand movement. Onyeka was electrifying on stage, and her voice was a special gift, at once mellifluous and authoritative.
Today, she held us all spellbound. The audience was on their feet and chanted along. “One love, keep us together…” It was a defining moment. She was a performer, I was host and director of ceremonies, and Her Excellency Senator Remi Tinubu was chief host and special guest of honour.
The event was organised by the Nigerian First Lady to celebrate Nigerian women and their milestone with the theme “Looking forward” and also to commemorate the Tinubu administration’s first anniversary in office. As soon as I announced the “Elegant Stallion,” Onyeka held down the room with her dramatic emergence from the back of the room and her engaging voice, keeping us all on our feet, gyrating and dancing, first lady inclusive. It was a historic moment, considering that this would have been one of her last three performances before she passed.
At the end of the song with many encores, she raised her hand up and pulled it down like a lever, bringing the song and performance to a halt. A very Onyeka thing to do. We cheered and cheered, and the applause was almost nonstop. And as I returned to the stage, my voice rang out in celebration of a voice for all times, still strong, still sonorous at over seventy years old, and for good measure delivering a song that was released thirty years earlier as if it were yesterday. She took a bow. A truly unforgettable moment. And I remember clear as rain, her energetic stride to join a group photo with the first lady, which Her Excellency called for, asking “Where is Onyeka?” and a picture I was invited to join.
We remember with goose bumps a young Onyeka delivering on all fours on the waters of the Lagos lagoon in a motorboat resplendent in her charming smile as she sings One Love to us in one of Nigeria’s earliest well-produced music videos. We remember with fondness her song “Ekwe” and the attendant video, rich in culture and rhythm. And Onyeka, a truly traditional lady with much international exposure, took to the Igbo traditional dance moves like water off a duck’s back.
We remember her documentaries like yesterday, profound in script and voice, her voice-over as strong and authoritative as her unwavering personality, always delivering on her conviction. Onyeka was a delightful television broadcaster, producing and presenting several programs over the years. She was also an excellent actress, diversifying her skills and talent across several creative enterprises.
One of her most powerful outings in Nollywood was as a woman with mental health issues eating from rubbish heaps and carrying on with giggles while living rough in a truly believable piece of acting that blew me away in the movie “Conspiracy.” I honestly thought at the time that she would win Best Actress in the many awards in the country because in that piece of work, Onyeka was world-class and etched her name in the sands of Nigerian thespian history forever. I recommend that the Nollywood community honour her with a posthumous award for that piece of art that she gifted us with.
Onyeka Onwenu was truly a gift, multi-talented, outspoken, and a truly creative genius in many ways.
Many years ago, I was drafted into a committee for a Mothers Summit in 2006 by my minister, Frank Nweke Jnr. (minister of information). Never mind that the summit unbeknownst to me and a few other committee members turned out to be political. In the spirit of motherhood, I served earnestly with many distinguished personalities, to include Onyeka. At the gala night, she performed with her mother. It was a sight to behold. One day, she had arrived at the committee meeting and told us that she had lost her bid to become chairman of her local government. She never did make the political break she wanted, but she was rewarded for her effort with a short stint as the DG of the National Women’s Centre.
We remember with pride her duet with the legendary Sunny Ade on managing a decent family in order to cater well for them. A song that would bring up things that upset her, including the rumour that something was going on between them.
I celebrate her for keeping her family very private and succeeding at it.
Today we mourn her, but in a celebratory way that multiplies her as a high-level creative achiever, singer, songwriter, performer, band owner, actress, documentarian, TV presenter, producer, wife, and mother.
Our hearts go out to her sons Abraham and Tijanni, and to all her fans and loved ones, family, and friends. Nigeria has lost a truly creative force of no means repute, but legacies would outlive her for years to come. And as she sings in one of her finest songs, me and you will live as one… Nigerians would always have Onyeka Onwenu everywhere we go. Her songs, her films, and her striking personality will live with us forever. Adieu, Onyeka Onwenu, the elegant stallion. May you find rest and peace with your maker…
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