To residents of Ayobo community, indiscriminate dumping of dead bodies and unhygienic condition of the public cemetery located in their area has become a clear and present danger. They said it has become an eyesore and are pleading with the state government to rescue them from an impending doom an epidemic, which is likely to envelope the community especially in this time of Ebola epidemic.
According to the residents “We are living in perpetual fear of an imminent outbreak of epidemic due to the indiscriminate dumping of dead bodies of different degrees at every available space without regulation.” They added that it has been causing unnecessary health hazards while recent downpour has also taken its tolls on the cemetery, digging up dead bodies buried in shallow graves. Coupled with this is lack of drainage and roads in the cemetery. “Some dead bodies were washed from their shallow graves to open space and nobody to take the necessary action thereby aggravating extent of nuisance being caused to innocent residents and passers by,” a resident told The Nation on Sunday.
The community however, decried the way and manner where all kinds of unknown people work at the cemetery, “We don’t know who is who, we don’t know who are the cemetery attendants, we don’t know the grave diggers but we see people digging graves on a daily basis in a nutshell we seemed confused over how the cemetery is treated anyhow,” they chorused.
The Ayobo community has for the past 14 years been crying and pleading to the local council who had failed to come to their rescue and now decided to inform the state government to come to rescue to avoid the Ebola virus from exterminating their lives.
State of Ayobo cemetery
Though the environment is serene, it is also bushy as all kinds of trees have sprouted on the graves. While one could hear the chirping of birds and see rats running across the cemetery. At the cemetery one could see clothing materials used to bury the corpses lying on some of these graves. While some of these weather -beaten clothes had become old and had turned brown. Not only this, some hand gloves were glued to the ground. Some of the tombs have caved in while only mere sand were used to cover some dead bodies presumed to have been buried (in shallow graves) as a little scratch of the surface will expose the corpses. Sticks of different makes and sizes were used to mark some graves for identification while some relatives only inscribed the names of the deceased on graves that had already caved in. Some of the names inscribed on the tombs have either been defaced or removed. Suspected human flesh and bones were visible. Those who could not erect tombs for the dead only buried sticks and broken tea cups and stones to mark the graves where their beloved ones were buried.
The cemetery is under PHCN’s high tension wire which some also claimed owned parts of the land. The cemetery and its environment are unkempt as they have been overgrown with weeds. Aside all this one could see fluid oozing out from some of the graves thus emitting bad odour that pervaded the air as it went up to high heavens. Not only this, some of the grave diggers are said to be full of nefarious activities as they are suspected to be using this place for their illicit business in selling human parts as ‘strange small structures’ are erected in some hidden areas in the bush where they are suspected to be doing their evil job and since nobody guides the cemetery they do their job undisturbed. That is the sorry and filthy condition of the Ayobo cemetery that has no gate, no security and no fence as it is open to all evil doers.
“People come here any time of the day to bury corpses and many a times would just drop dead bodies on the ground and leave thus making animals, birds and ritualists to have their field day undisturbed while only carcasses of the dead would be met the following week,” according to Yinka Oyetunde, a lawyer.
Last Tuesday surprise was written all over the community development members’ faces as some were shocked to their bone marrows when they saw how the place had been desecrated when they took this reporter round the cemetery to show the sorry and embarrassing state of the place. The cemetery which was supposed to be a resting place for the dead is no more as the dead are not allowed to rest. What is going on at the cemetery shows man’s inhumanity to man and where no respect or honour is given to the dead. Grief and shock enveloped everybody as the entourage were welcomed with the stench from the environment. More worrisome was the gory sight of the area that was littered with used clothes probably the clothes used to bury the dead which had turned brown. Some of the community members who could not control themselves burst into tears seeing the level of bestiality that confronted them.
Grave diggers at work
As this reporter and some of the CDA members got to the cemetery for inspection, lo and behold two young men were met digging a grave in the middle of the cemetery where another corpse was suspected to have been interred before. When this reporter asked what they were doing they claimed they were digging the grave for a new corpse which will soon be buried there, two of the community members in annoyance told The Nation “That is what we are saying, we cannot trust these men who dig here, we don’t know their identities and could be using the place to perpetrate evil,” the CDA officers lamented .
However, this reporter pretended to have come to erect a tomb on his father’s grave who was buried there in 2012 and demanded for the two young grave diggers’ service, they quickly jumped at the offer and started the unholy negotiation. One of them who claimed to be ‘Muri Thunder’ and the other ‘Wale Cemetery’ said the reporter should pay N22,000 and N15,000 in order to erect permanent and temporal tombs for his father. After much bargaining (without suspecting the motive) they demanded for N20,000 and N14,000. While the reporter promised to call back.
However, a peep at what they were digging showed that they were digging another shallow grave where they would bury another corpse. The shallow grave had been emptied! Investigation reveals that after six months of burying a corpse it would be removed while another would be buried there again. No wonder when it rains the corpses are exposed and human carcasses scattered all over the cemetery while animals feast on them.
Complaints from residents
Madam Charity Nweke who lives directly opposite the cemetery said she is fed up with the indiscriminate dumping of human bodies on the road and on the cemetery without giving them proper burial. According to her, ” I live directly opposite the cemetery and could see man’s inhumanity to man. Some of these people would bring the dead bodies here and would dress them and just leave them on the road or would dump them in the cemetery without digging the ground to bury them. This amazes me and I had challenged them many times which often lead to exchange of hot words or verbal war. I used to see them dumping them on a daily basis. At times I had to use stick to push away the gloves they leave behind to avoid children from playing with them thinking it is a toy.” Not done yet, Nweke said she had reported them several times to the CDA to come and see what is going on there. “I have cried and cried to the Community Development Association but nothing was forthcoming. I am not afraid of the dead but I believe the dead needs to be treated well; not to be dumping them on the road or in the cemetery. Cemeteries should be fenced round and not be exposed at all. In fact, there is no road within the cemetery and that is why they bury dead bodies there indiscriminately. There is one tomb a vehicle hit and exposed the vault they later went to patch the open space with cement.”
Asked whether it was like this before, but Nweke who claimed to have been here since 2004 said she decided to come to the area when the house rent went up. “That is why I came to construct small house here. I don’t know this area is a cemetery at all. I am not afraid of the dead, I only fear God. Nothing will make me to fear. When we bought this place there was nothing like this, we did not know it was a burial ground. They started burying people here and we don’t know who even approved the place for them.”
The CDA vice chairman, John Mnye said he is not happy with the way things are going on according to him he has been living in the vicinity since 2007. He cried, “It wasn’t like this before. We have complained a lot about the desecration of this cemetery and the road is bad. The Lagos should come and remove or relocate the cemetery,” he pleaded
He added that the land was said to belong to PHCN, “This land is said to belong to PHCN, and suddenly part of it was turned to a cemetery. I remember there was a time when the PHCN officials came here saying they would come with caterpillar to level the cemetery as the land belongs to them, but nothing was forthcoming.”
Oyetunde is visibly angry over the situation, he said ” it has become so worrisome to the extent that the offensive stench coming out of the cemetery, if no proper urgent attention is made by the state government, could bring another health hazard.”
He continued, “People do come here at odd hours of the day to bury their dead. Some people even come with bare remains of the dead and with hollow grave hurriedly perform burial rites without using coffin two metres away from the road. Ebola is here with us due to inadequate preventive measures and lack of political will.”
While lauding the effort of the state government on Ebola disease, the residents of the area are seriously appealing to the government to come urgently to their aid to avert an imminent epidemic that could lead to loss of lives due to the over powering and offensive stench oozing out of the cemetery.
Oyetunde added “The Lagos State government should as a matter of urgency send the officials of the Ministry of Environment to assess the extent of these arbitrary and uncontrolled use of the cemetery. In fact, to say the least, the cemetery deserves to be fenced round to control the indiscriminate dumping of dead bodies and abuse of the use of the place by different people that come from far and near.”
On the efforts they had made so far, he said “the Kajola Community Development Association lodged series of complaints in the past to both Alimosho Local Government and Ayobo/Ipaja Local Council Development Area but to no avail. Enough is enough. A stitch in time saves nine. To me there is no control that is why you see people there, we don’t even know whether they are doing genuine work there or not so anybody can go there. We pay our tax. And now we don’t know the work of the Local Council if they are not interested in this case .Now we are pleading to the state government to wade in before Ebola starts here!”
Lack of security
Ebenezer Chiazor another resident said “What we want is security and fence, the dead needs atom of respect. We have been complaining before within our range, it is not hygienic the way uncouth people come here and dump corpses, there is Ebola now. We have complained and written letters but nothing has been done.”
On the efforts of the community to stem it, Ademola Okikiade said “What I met here is horrifying, we want the place to be removed. We had wanted to attack these people who bring corpses and dump them or bury them in shallow graves but did not want to take law into our hands. We could have stopped them but there will be fight. People do fall sick because of the stench only that it has not gotten to an alarming rate, and that is what we are trying to avoid. It is not until we start having the record of Ebola virus before we know the importance of being hygienic.”
Despite the inconvenience and complaints by the Community Development members who always covered their noses with their hands and handkerchiefs, the unknown grave diggers continue working without supervision and interference.
When will this waiting disasters and epidemic be stopped?
