Three years after his demise, former Senate President Joseph Wayas is yet to be buried.
Wayas died at the age of 80 in London on November 20, 2021.
However, it took more than two and a half years for his remains to be returned to Nigeria. The intervention of Cross River State Governor Bassey Otu enabled this development.
Wayas’ body was deposited at the morgue of the National Hospital, Abuja, upon its return on July 10, 2024, where it has been kept since, in anticipation of a befitting state burial.
But prevailing political and economic situations are conspiring against the burial.
Aside from the challenging economic conditions in the country, the Governor of Cross River State — where Wayas is from — has his hands full trying to consolidate his political stance, especially with a local government election on the way (November 2024).
The Governor, who is eligible to stand for a second term, is keen to establish a political structure that would serve him in the next election(2027).
He is a member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and needs to work with the Federal Government, controlled by the rival All Progressives Congress (APC), to give Wayas a “deserving burial.”
“There is a lot of political consideration at play, a situation not helped by the state of the economy, which has seen the Federal Government battling to cut costs while alleviating the suffering of the masses,” according to available information.
Although it is not clear how a befitting burial for a former high-ranking elected official ranks in the scheme of things, it is evident that there are very pressing matters in the corridors of power, especially with the everyday criticisms of the government at all levels due to the soaring cost of living.
Wayas was Senate President from October 1, 1979, to December 31, 1983.
Meanwhile, those involved in the Cross River State Government’s Funeral Planning Committee for Wayas’ burial are already preparing a mausoleum as his final resting place and are pushing the Federal Government to agree on a burial date.
