Mixed reactions have trailed the posthumous birthday Mr. Sylvester Oromoni, father of Sylvester Oromoni Jnr., who was gruesomely murdered by fellow students of Dowen College, Lekki, Lagos State.
Some argued that while Nigerians were busy mourning the death of the deceased, the parents, family members and associates were having fun over a late boy.
A Facebook user, Chiedu Ikechukwu, wrote on his Facebook page, condemning the birthday batch.
According to Chiedu, “Ahhhh No please, Haba What is this? Is celebrating birthday now more important than getting Justice? What is the Birthday for? What is the happiness and Laugher in the pics for?
“They are celebrating and smiling when we haven’t gotten justice for a 12year old boy that was illegally killed? NO I dont support this”.
Another user, Anah Nwamma Adaeze said: “I dont even know what they are celebrating o, everyone is mourning and seeking for Justice and they are there celebrating Birthday, What is even the benefit of the birthday? You can imagine the happiness in their face. The parent and family goofed”.
Taking up the matter again, Anah Nwamma Adaeze, said she was very angry when i saw that rubbish, wonder what they’re celebrating anyways”.
Also, a yet another respondent, simply identified as Jewel Flowers, said: “Everyone mourns the departure of their loved ones differently.
“In as much as I also do not support or appreciate this, I feel it was their way of trying to console themselves while still believing or struggling to accept the demise of their son”.
Awele Faithfulness Okocha, said: “This is nonsense, are dey trying to adopt Indian method dat if anyone die they were celebrate the dead person, dat is waste of money, d boy is dead instead dey will be looking for Justice for the boy. I wonder y dey r celebrating a dead person no need for dis nonsense”.
But in a swift reaction, the father of the deceased, Mr. Oromoni, revealed some details regarding why he celebrated his son’s posthumous birthday five days after Sylvester Oromoni passed away. The father of the deceased made some revelations about his family’s history during his interview on Arise News.
During the interview, Mr Oromoni said, “I made a promise to my son while he was alive. My wife gave birth to 11 children (four males and seven females), but I lost one of them to death years ago. Sylvester was our last child. My wife delivered 10 of our kids without a surgical operation. However, she had to undergo a caesarean session (popularly known as C-section) while giving birth to Sylvester. I promised to celebrate his birthday every year in bigger forms.”
Speaking further, he added, “I realised that even he is not with us, we should still ‘mark’ his birthday. It was not a celebration, as many people assume. We only marked his birthday and prayed for his soul. We did not drink or wine.
“I promised him, and I will continue doing it even after his death. I will invite pastors to pray for his innocent soul on such days. It was not a day of happiness”.
