TheCable

There was drama at the burial of Florence Adenenenken, mother-in-law of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, as he locked out some mourners during the service held for the deceased at St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Diocese of Remo, Isara Remo, Ogun state, on Friday.

The deceased, who died in April, was the mother of Obasanjo’s wife, Bola.

Bola was reportedly absent at the ceremony. She was said to be in the United Kingdom and could not make it to the burial.

Obasanjo reportedly manned the door of the church and ordered many of the mourners who wanted to be part of the service to go back, ensuring that the approved limit of those to be allowed in was strictly adhered to.

The former president, who was said to have stood his ground in compliance with the COVID-19 protocol, reportedly did not spare some of his close aides and associates who even had their face masks on.

The state’s COVID-19 guideline for burial stipulates a maximum of 20 people at a funeral ceremony as part of measures to ensure social distancing and curb the spread of the disease.

In June, the former president warned Nigerians not to mistake the lifting of restrictions on lockdown as the end of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the 2020 Annual Sobo Sowemimo Lecture in Abeokuta, the former president, who was the guest lecturer at the event, described COVID-19 as a disease that Nigeria was ill-prepared and poorly equipped for.

“Although restrictions are being lifted, we are not out of the woods yet,” Obasanjo had said.

“We must not let down our guard because we may not have reached the peak yet.

He said the need for continuous awareness and measures “to disabuse the minds of ordinary people who may still believe that COVID-19 is not real or that it is the disease of the rich”.