The immediate past traditional ruler of the Aro Kingdom and custodian of its heritage, His Majesty, Mazi Ogbonnaya Okoro, also known as Eze Aro of Arochukwu, will be buried on Monday, April 5, 2021.
The chairman of Aro National Rites of Passage Committee, Prof. Okoro Ijoma, who disclosed this in a virtual media briefing on Friday, revealed that the burial rites of the late monarch will be an opportunity to celebrate him.
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According to the chairman, “We are mourning in one form, and in another form, we are celebrating him and Arochukwu, which he represented and still represents.
“During the reign of 25 years, he was a shining light in many ways and Arochukwu has a lot to show for it.”
While commending the late monarch for using his influence positively for the betterment of Arochukwu during his reign, the committee chairman described the late Monarch as a leader who used every opportunity to lobby for the welfare of his immediate community.
“Throughout his reign, he made contacts to reach Abuja and all government officials that he came across, on how to improve the quality of road network of Aro.
“Under him, an imposing civic centre was completed for you to know that Mazi was a great ruler and the event of next week is to celebrate him and to celebrate Aro and to celebrate what monarchy in Aro stands for,” he said.
Before ascending the throne, Mazi Ogbonnaya Okoro, who trained in the United Kingdom as a Medical Laboratory Scientist, was the pioneer Head of the Department of Laboratory Technology at the University of Nigeria Teaching hospital, Enugu.
He retired as the Chief Medical Laboratory Scientist at the UNN in 1988 to ascend the throne.
Eze Ogbonnaya Okoro ascended the famous Eze Aro throne in 1995 and his reign witnessed the tremendous transformation of the Kingdom and growth in inter-communal relations.
Among other positions, Eze Ogbonnaya Okoro was a first-class traditional ruler and occupied one of the ancient traditional stools in Nigeria and was the custodian of the Aro heritage worldwide.
His burial will climax a week-long passage of rites for the late first-class monarch which kicks off on Friday, April 2.
The climax of the funeral rites will be held on Monday, 5th April at the Arochukwu Civic and Cultural Center, Oror, Arochukwu.
