Linda Nneji lindaenneji@gmail.com
The present ordeal which the most respected and revered family of the Onwuliri’s is passing through, is really sad and most unfortunate as that which should have been treated as a family issue most despicably found its way in the public domain. The reluctance and restrain exhibited by my very good friend and most respected erudite Professor, Prof Mrs Viola Onwuliri towards this particular issue, is indeed quite understandable just as it is quite despicable, repulsive and extremely repugnant for those especially the media practitioners who wedged into this family issue with no recourse to the feelings of those involved; with no qualms of conscience and to the utter disrespect of the noble virtue of familyhood. This automatically leaves any and every well thinking person to ask; what actually does the plaintiff in this matter want to achieve? What a World in the hands of a wanton woman!!!
Some malignant family ulcers have cashed into this as an avenue to further carry out their smear campaign against our most respected erudite Scholar and Political juggernaut, Prof Mrs Viola Onwuliri while others saw it as an opportunity to malign the good image of the highly revered family of the Onwuliris even without paying attention to little details. No sane person will condone any form of violence against a married woman especially from the husband and as a wife that is the last thing I will ever wish for just as it is most condemnable for a woman to be violent towards any member of her family.
Violence of any sort is wrong as it eventually leads to many other forms of evil. Unlike those who rushed into conclusions before hearing from both parties, we have seen the two sides of this unfortunate happenstance and the question is, could the revered Onwuliris have done what their own daughter-in-law Mrs Christina Onwuliri (Nee Amaefule), is accusing them of? Also, is it true that Mrs Christina Onwuliri is suffering from some “mental imbalance” as alleged by the Onwuliris?
Mrs Christina Onwuliri accused her mother-in-law, Prof Mrs Viola Onwuliri of not just being against her marriage with the son, Engr Chukwuemeka Elihe Onwuliri from the onset but that our own most respected Prof was interfering in her ‘home’. To start with, in this our own part of the World, majority of married woman suffer rejection from at least one member of the family including the extended family during the time she is about coming into the family and within the first early stages of the marriage. This is because, when a promising young man or even woman is growing up in the family, there is vested interest from both the maternal and paternal sides especially where there is peace just as most of the times, each and everybody would want whosoever the young man/woman would eventually marry to come from his/her side. When the young person eventually picks a wife, there will always be someone by the side who will feel sad and disappointed because his/her ‘candidate’ is not the chosen one.
In this case, how do you as a well-brought up young man/woman handle such ‘rejection(s)’? Maturity, respect, responsibility, authenticity, prudence, temperance and excellence are the virtues you need to conquer the heart of that very person who allegedly rejected you. You can only fail in this regard if you lack any or some of these virtues just as the worst thing that can happen to you, the person in question and your marriage is when you lack all of the above. A properly brought up young woman or man who is armed with these virtues in no distant time do become the darling of everyone in the various homes where they find themselves just as those who find it difficult to love them cannot but respect them. Did our charmingly beautiful Christina exhibit any of these priceless virtues towards her well-exposed and excellently enlightened mother-in-law?
Away from that, the Prof Viola Onwuliri I have come to know and even according to the litany of unbiased assessment of her human relationship, is one woman whose house is always open to strangers. Most of these ‘strangers’ ate from her pot all the way from Jos including those that did call for her head on a platter of gold because of her outspokenness and abhorrence to any form of evil against the society. She is one woman who derives joy in benevolent acts just as many can truly testify to this. How can this woman who is this good to outsiders most of whom have no bearing to her life and career, turn out to hate her own most charmingly beautiful daughter-in-law so badly even to the extent of hurting her marriage to his own beloved son? Lack of peace in the family affects both husband and wife and can our own dear Pro Viola instigate such in the matrimonial home of her most beloved son when she knows such will eventually affect him?
Prof Mrs Viola Adaku Onwuliri and her late husband, most respected Prof Celestine Onwuliri (May his soul rest in peace) are an example of an ideal couple and their family an excellent example of an ideal family. The saying that behind every successful man, there is a woman cannot be wrong because a Viola Onwuliri whom you have some grudges against is involved. It is said often times that as a man or woman is so is his/her husband/wife and that compatibility is the reason you will never hear their voices let alone see them engage in a fight let alone an open fight. Painting late Prof Celestine in good light as one stands the risk of being stoned to death in the whole of Mbaise nation, Imo State and beyond if otherwise while at the same time presenting his amiable wife as a dare devil is nothing short of mischievousness.
Having said that, as an ideal family, outsiders do come to them for advice when they have issues in their homes and marriages; they saw it all just as Prof Mrs Viola is very much knowledgeable in this regard and so many other areas of life endeavours. If perhaps, Engr Chukwuemeka Onwuliri do go to her mother for advice either for issues in his home, job or life generally OR that our own erudite Prof and most respected mother from time to time give her beloved son some advice, is it wrong? Should our most revered Prof Viola Onwuliri stop wishing that her son’s family attain even greater heights than her own family did? What has our beautiful Christina Onwuliri done to prove to her husband, Engr Chukwuemeka Onwuliri that she is capable of giving a more sound advice and has a better approach to issues than our erudite and highly enlightened Prof Viola Onwuliri?
Be that as it may, Engr Chukwuemeka Elihe Onwuliri a UNN Valedictorian of an all time standing 4.87 CGPA who has achieved all he did at his young age by a dint of hard work cannot be a Mummy’s boy. If however, the ever beautiful Mrs Christina Onwuliri wants us to believe against all odds that the reverse is the case then; our most revered Prof Mrs Viola Onwuliri must be among the best of all Mums in the World and one that every child should have that we may have so many geniuses in this part of the World.