Samuel told FIJ (Foundation for investigative journalism)that the Akinkunmi family was already planning to bury its patriarch when the government stepped in, pledging to honour him with “a proper state burial”.
“After my dad died on August 29, 2023, the entire family held a meeting and later reached an agreement that he would be buried between December 10 and 11, 2023,” Samuel told FIJ.
“However, that particular period coincided with the time representatives from the Oyo State Government came to pay a condolence visit to us.
“At the federal level, officials from the National Orientation Agency (NOA) also visited us.
“It was during their visit that they declared that because my father was a national hero, they were going to ensure that he was given a befitting state burial.
Unfortunately, that was the last time we heard from the officials of both arms of government. Because of the pledge that they made, however, we were then left in a dilemma on what we were supposed to do next.
“We could no longer go ahead to bury my dad in our own little way as a family because the government had stepped in, and we also no longer heard from the government as per the promise they made.
“We wrote several mails to both the Oyo State Government and the federal government to call their attention to the promise they made, but we did not get any response from them.”
From Samuel’s statements, it was clear the family had planned on burying their patriarch long before now.
“As it is now, we can still not do anything because the government has said they must have a say in his burial because of his status as a national hero,” said Samuel.
“What we were told that even made us put our own arrangements on hold was that my dad’s burial could not just be carried out by us alone.
“They stressed that government officials, both at the state and federal level, must be present to give him a befitting ‘farewell and salute’ before he could be buried.
“In the last communication we had with the Oyo State Government, we were told to list all that the family would need for the burial, and we have forwarded it to them.
We are, however, still waiting for a response from them.”
When Samuel was asked if the Oyo State Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism was aware of the level of unresponsiveness on the part of the government, he said, “Well, they are supposed to be involved in the burial, but we have not heard anything from them.”
The late Akinkunmi, whose wife died in 2019, is survived by three children and grandchildren.
When FIJ called Dotun Oyelade, the Oyo State Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, for comments on the matter, he said he would carry out an investigation and provide feedback by Thursday.
“I will investigate the complaint and get back to you on Thursday when I’m back to base,” he said.
In summary, my dad was born on May 10, 1936; he designed the Nigerian flag at the age of 22. He was eventually remembered for his pre-independence contribution in 2014, and he died at the age of 87.
“He’s been dead for 10 months, and his body is still lying in a morgue because of the befitting state burial promise the government made.”
