The Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred, has explained why the Onitsha traditional council decided to shorten the traditional burial rites from three days to one day.

Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s ‘Morning Brief’ on Wednesday, the monarch said the decision is to save cost on the side of the bereaved families.

He, however, said that there were resistance especially from the women’s group, stating that they set up a committee and spoke to the leaders of the women group and convinced them that it is the right way to go.

“Yes, in some cases, there are push backs, particularly some elements of our culture and tradition that has been on for a long time.

“When I came onto the throne, our traditional burial, which even the Church has also emulated, is that you have a wake-keep, which is an all night affair, and then the next day is interment, which is a big ceremony.

“Thanksgiving service to bury somebody was three days of spending money. So, the traditional Council under me decided that we can cut it down to one day, 6am to 6pm. No wake up, no day after.

“We knew that there would be resistance, the women’s group and all. So we then set up consultation committee and spoke to the leaders of the women group and convinced them that it is the right way to go, and there’s nothing about our culture and tradition that is going to be set aside because everything can be done in 12 hours. They accepted it.

“Initially, they were grumbling and some push back, but today, everybody said it’s the best decisions that we’ve made in the past several years. And the church also has adopted it,” he said.