Drama erupts at Bunmi Akinnanu’s burial as daughter accuses father of neglect

By Folashade Olorunfemi –

A video of the late gospel singer Bunmi Akinnanu’s daughter has surfaced online, showing her paying tribute to her mother while condemning her father as a deadbeat during the singer’s service of songs.

The video emerged following the drama at the artiste’s interment service on Thursday, when proceedings were briefly disrupted as her casket was being lowered into the grave. Her ex-husband’s family reportedly insisted that the children speak with their father on the phone, but they refused. The son insisted he was not their family member and claimed they were not loved as had been said.

In footage from the service, a woman who claimed to be their aunt shouted that she had come for the children and asked why she was being blocked.

She handed her phone to the children, telling them they were family and that their father loved them, but the furious son of the deceased angrily refused, saying he was not, while other family members tried to calm the situation and console the grieving children.

During Bunmi’s service of songs on Wednesday, January 28, the grieving daughter spoke warmly about her mother, recalling how she had taken responsibility for her and her brother while their father neglected them. She added that now that he knows their mother has died, he was trying to re-enter their lives.

“My mother was the best woman in the world to me. She was the only one who made me feel special, like someone’s child. Ever since my father left, he did not call, he did not care. Imagine! Now he is calling because he knows that someone has died,” she said.

She also thanked her mother’s elder brother, whom she referred to as “Uncle Wale”, for his support.

Bunmi’s burial, which had initially been postponed until further notice, held at Atan Cemetery in Lagos on Thursday, bringing together family members, friends, and industry colleagues in an emotional gathering to bid her farewell.