A son has taken to his late father's grave to confront him for sharing his properties and including his four daughters in the will.
The man, simply identified as Emmy, is the first son of the seven children born to late Gabriel Okwukogwu. After his father was buried in their hometown in Orlu, Imo State and the will was read, Emmy, incensed that his dad had included his four daughters in Anambra state in the will, returned to his hometown from Lagos where he resides to inform his father's spirit that he has no intention of complying with the will.
P.M Express reports that the family of late Gabriel Okwukogwu stays at G.M.O Road in Ogbaru area of Onitsha, Anambra State. The Okwukogwu patriarch reportedly owned properties both in Onitsha and Owerri. After the burial, the late father’s lawyer called the members of the family, presented their late father’s will and read it to the children for implementation. The properties in Anambra and Imo state were shared equally among the children not minding the gender status. When the lawyer was done reading and Emmy discovered that his sisters were given some of their father's properties, got angry and declared that the will did not come from their father because he really understood the culture and tradition as observed in Igbo land.
According to him, the culture did not recognize women because it was expected that they will get married to their husbands and therefore were not entitled to inherit any property from their family. Emmy insisted that the culture and tradition will be applied in the sharing of the properties then he stormed out of the meeting and headed to their family house in Orlu, went to his father’s grave and protested; that he will not comply with his purported will because he did not comply with the laid down customs and tradition in the land.
Emmy’s decision to reject the will is reportedly causing serious problems in the family as the women in question threatened to fight for their rights as contained in the will rejected by their eldest brother.
Meanwhile, P.M.Express has spoken to some Igbo leaders concerning the incident. Some declared that Emmy was right because women were not entitled to inherit family properties according to tradition. Others said that it was the old practice and the properties in question were not family houses which the women will never inherit according to tradition.
