Veteran Nollywood actress Patience Ozokwor has shared her grief at the sudden passing of Onyeka Onwenu.
The legendary musician Onyeka Onwenu allegedly passed away at Reddington Hospital following a performance in Lagos.
Patience Ozokwor, speaking to NAN in Enugu, described Onyeka Onwenu’s death as painful and hurtful, noting their close friendship.
She also voiced worry over the high death rate in the nation and enquired about the underlying reasons.
“Onyeka is not just a colleague but a friend. I am downcast now and hurting because of her death and for the fact that she was not sick.
“How can everyone be dying like that, what is causing so much death? Everyone is stressed up in this country,” she said.
Following Onyeka Onwenu’s passing, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu also expressed his condolences to her family.
This is stated in a statement made public on Wednesday by the President’s Special Advisor for Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale.
He mentioned Ms. Onwenu’s roles as an actor, singer, songwriter, journalist, politician, and activist.
“The Queen of Songs, whose edifying and mellifluous rendition, ‘One Love,’ in the 1990s evoked a fervour of fellowship and harmony,” was reportedly lamented by President Tinubu.
The President recalled the many artistic interventions of the late musical icon in promoting the public good, noting her classic collaboration with King Sunny Ade on ‘Wait for Me’, a melodic campaign on family planning in the 1980s.
President Tinubu celebrated the life of the versatile and extremely gifted artiste who applied herself to the whole gamut of artistic enterprise and expression, bringing joy and laughter to many.
He condoled with the entertainment industry, the Imo State Government, and the numerous fans of the departed star over this immeasurable loss.