Tag: FARMLAND

WHEN human beings die and are buried, they are always said and believed to have gone to rest in peace. But this may not be so for the dead at Ajara Group Cemetery, located in Badagry, a suburb of Lagos State.

The 15- acre land set aside for the dead in the community for the purpose of making them to enjoy eternal bliss appears to have been hijacked by the living, farmers to be precise. Checks at the cemetery revealed that the dead are obviously not enjoying their rest following the activities of the farmers, who have tilled and planted all manners of crops all around the expansive land.

The vast cemetery, it was learnt, is divided equally among the three major religions in the country. The farmers planted maize, cassava, vegetables and other crops all around the premises. Interestingly, some residents of the community, who spoke with The Nation, said that the land produces bountiful harvest that provides a number of food items for the people of the area all year round.

In spite the economic benefits that farming in the cemetery brings to the farmers and the community at large, the traditional chief of the community, Chief Samuel Amosu Owolabani, condemned the practice, describing it as a serious security challenge to the bodies buried in the cemetery. Besides, he said, it is disrespectful to the dead, especially in this part of the world for anybody to turn their resting place to a farm.

“I am aware that people are farming there. It was brought to my notice by members of the community. It is not good for anybody to go and be farming in the cemetery because that is not what it is meant for. It poses a serious security threat because those farmers have unrestrained access to the environment. What if any of them has any ulterior motive apart from going in there to farm? I really don’t know the farmers because I cannot leave my house here to go and be monitoring what is happening at the cemetery.

“Apart from security challenge, it is also a mark of disrespect for the dead. In this part of the world, we have deep respect for the dead. It does not matter that they are no more living, they deserve our respect. Therefore, the farmers are not showing any respect to the departed souls at all by going to their resting place to cultivate the land,” he said.

He dismissed the claim that the activities of the farmers support the community’s food supply, saying: “What quantity of farm produce do they bring from there? It is just 15 acres of land and what quantity do you think they will come up with that will make or mar the supply of food in our markets? We have other farms in the area, so the claim is unfounded”.

A resident of the community, who gave his name as Sunday, alleged that the bountiful harvest may partly be connected to the natural manure which the decomposed bodies of the dead people buried in the area may have provided for the earth.

“The cemetery, which ordinarily should be a no go area for the living, surprisingly has become a place where our people cultivate and grow crops. Some of the farmers make use of fertilisers but it is not impossible that the organic manure provided by the decomposed dead bodies could be aiding the fertility of the ground which, in turn, makes it possible for the farmers to have good harvest.

“If you look critically at the premises, you would find that some of the graves are not cemented. After some time, such graves that are not cemented will be flattened by weather conditions such as rain fall and other human activities. When this happens, hardly would anybody know that it is a grave. When you now plant crops on it, you can be sure that they would produce a bountiful harvest,” he said.

Anthony, another resident of the area, hinted that there are more than 100 people that are farming in the cemetery. He pointed out that most of the farmers are doing it for commercial purposes and not just for subsistence. “There are more than 100 people that are farming in the cemetery. When you come go round the compound, you will see both men and women tilling the ground.

“The quantity of vegetable they produce is massive. To be sincere with you, the entire community benefits from their bravely. When they harvest their produce, they sell at cheaper rates than what others that bring similar goods from farther places would sell. I said this because it is not a mean feat for anybody to go into a cemetery and be farming because it can be frightening to be such a place.

“You can blame that on hardship and desperation on the part of the people to legitimately earn a living. If there were sufficient land for the people to farm, they would never condescend to the level of going into a cemetery to farm.”

He also said that decomposed bodies from graves that are not cemented could be aiding the fertility of the land, adding: “It is very easy for the farmers to be innocently planting on graves that are not cemented after they have been levelled by weather conditions. But it may not be possible for them to be planting on cemented graves .When weather condition levels a grave, a farmer would not be doing anything wrong if he plants his crops on it because he might be doing so unknowingly.”

Some of the farmers, who spoke with our correspondent, however, denied planting on and around the graves. One of them explained: “We don’t plant on or around the graves at all. If you find any crops growing on or around a grave, then, it must have sprung up on its own.

If you are familiar with farming, you will know that what I have told you is true. But when such a crop matures and one sees it, it would be better harvested because if you don’t do that, it will rot away. But the truth is that we always make sure that we move away from where graves are when doing our cultivation.

“It is not also true that the decomposed bodies of the people buried at the cemetery serve as manure for us. How can dead bodies buried in some parts of the cemetery serve as manure for this whole place?

“It is not possible, although it is possible that they will be improving the fertility of the immediate surroundings of where they are buried; even if the dead bodies improve the fertility of the whole place, it cannot stop us from using fertiliser.  Most of us, if not all, use fertiliser because it boosts our crops and enhances our harvest.”

Another farmer, who spoke with The Nation, said he did not take to farming in the cemetery because he wanted to spite the dead. “I took to farming in the cemetery because the whole place was at a point in time a very thick bush, even though dead bodies were buried there. It was totally neglected and because some of us have interest in farming, we went in there to clear a good part of it and started farming. If you look round, you will see that some parts are still very bushy.

“Those are the parts that nobody deemed it fit to clear. If we did not do what we did, the whole place would have been a jungle by now and the neighbours would not have been able to sleep with their eyes closed,” he narrated.

He added that: “In spite of our activities in the cemetery, some of the neighbours still complain that snakes and other reptiles still come out of the place to their places. Imagine if we have not done what we did, would more dangerous not be a regular visitor to their homes on a daily basis?

“Apart from dangerous animals, other nocturnal creatures would have been residing in the bush if we did not open up the place. Such creatures and hoodlums always like bushy environments because their activities thrive in darkness and shady places.”

 

Asked if she does not get frightened farming in the cemetery, Bose, one of the female farmers, responded: “I was when I first started because of all the things I had heard and watched in home videos about how dead used to appear to people. Then, my heart would be filled with all manners of thoughts about ghosts and before I knew it, my head would begin to swell and that would automatically bring the day’s work to an end because I would have no alternative than to run away from the cemetery. It took time before I overcame it. Today, I have no such fears again because my mind has been disabused of the previous thoughts that used to paralyse me.”

But her male counterpart, who gave his name as Osawe, said he had never had any reason to fear about anything since he started working in the cemetery. “Why do I have to be scared of any dead person or a ghost? If a ghost appears to me, I would ask him if I was the one that killed him. I would simply ask him to leave me alone and go and meet his killer.

“Since I have no hand in any of their deaths, they cannot even appear to me. I really have nothing to be afraid about. All I do is to come here and do my work and after that, I go back to my house,” he said.

 

Why the cemetery was established

Before the cemetery was established over a decade ago, Chief Owolabani recalled that the people were used to burying their dead family members in their compounds. He recounted his reason for establishing the cemetery thus: “I took the decision after a member of the community had an ugly experience in his place of residence. He had rented the apartment without any knowledge that the place was previously a grave yard. After sometime of living in the apartment, it started sinking.

“Subsequently, he started seeing dry human bones from the sinking apartment. It was then that it dawned on him that he had rented an apartment that was built on a grave. When the news got to me, I felt it is not good in this civilised world for people to continue to have such unpalatable experience. That was why I decided to give out 15 acres of land for the community to establish a cemetery.”

He confirmed that the cemetery is divided into three equal parts for each of the dominant religions in the area. He expatiated that the decision to do so was arrived after some members of the different religions began to complain that they did not like the manner the others were carrying out their burial rites.

“To avoid unnecessary conflicts, I decided that each of the three religions should have five acres each for the burial of their members. So, if you get there now, you will find that Christians have their place for burying their dead members, the same with Muslims and the traditional worshippers.”

Going down memory lane, he said: “Ajara group comprises 13 town and villages. It is only Ajara Topa that is my domain that provided the land for the cemetery.  The land was previously under the Western Region and after the creation of states, it fell under the control of Lagos State.

“During the military regime of Olagunsoye Oyinlola, some of the land acquired by the government was released to Ajara Topa community. It was from what was released to us that I gave out the 15 acres for the establishment of the cemetery.

“No any other group within Ajara could provide such expanse of land. After the cemetery was built, we accepted that other neigbouring communities could be coming there to bury their departed ones. We, however, ruled out people from distant places to come there and bury people.”

Controversy over maintenance of cemetery

Chief Owolabani, however, lamented the bushy state of the cemetery, saying: “The cemetery is bushy because the local council in the area is not taking care of it. It is a shame on the community. About three years ago, I brought people from the Republic of Benin to clear the cemetery. Through communal efforts, we paid the sum of N120, 000 for that.

“We are waiting for the rainy season to be over so that we can go there and clear the place. When we go back to the cemetery to do the clearing, both the bush and the farms would be cleared. I have only kept mute about their activities all along because they have helped in clearing the bush to a very good extent. If not for them, the whole place would have remained a thick bush.”

Despite his claim that the local council does not show any concern about the state of the cemetery, he alleged that the officials have not ceased to collect money from people who are coming there to bury their relations. “They used to demand huge sums of money from bereaved families before they would be allowed to bury their dead in the cemetery that they do not bother about its state.

“A member of the community from Ajara Vedo came to me about two weeks ago to complain that he paid N27, 000 for a space to bury his deceased family member but was issued a receipt of N5,000.He would not be the first to make such a complaint to me. I have a number of receipts that other people have submitted to me complaining of similar development. I have written a petition to the council to that effect. That was not our objective of setting up the cemetery.

“As a community, our plan was to ask those that want to bury their deceased relations to pay a token that we can always use to maintain the cemetery. Unfortunately, the local council that collects the money from the people is not interested in the improvement of the cemetery. Like I said earlier, I am only waiting for the rains to subside before going back there to clear the place and make it to serve the purpose for which it was strictly established.”

The allegation was, however, debunked by a top council member, who did not want his name in prints. He said: “As civil servants, we are not permitted to grant interviews. However, I want to categorically tell you that all they said were mere allegations that cannot be substantiated. The onus is on those that are making the allegation to prove it.

“How can the council give a demand notice of N27, 000 and issue a receipt of N5, 000 and the person will not complain immediately? The challenge that our society has is that people are always out to cut corners. When they are told that something would cost X amount, they would want to reduce it. If that person is issued a receipt that is different from what he paid, would he have the moral courage to complain? He would not because he has also compromised by not agreeing to pay the official charges.”

He also reacted to the alleged abandonment of the cemetery by the council. “It is equally not true that the council does not clear the cemetery of the bush that is there. The land for building the cemetery might have been given by the community but the truth is that the council is directly in charge of it because it is constitutional that places like cemeteries and markets should be under the supervision of local governments.

“We have been clearing the cemetery from time to time but the challenge is that we have four cemeteries in this area. When we clear one and move to the other, the one earlier cleared would have grown before we complete the circle and return to it. The natives, Eegun people, are the ones farming on the land and they are resident in the area. No stranger goes there to farm. There must have been an issue that cropped up among them that led to all these issues.”