A town where the dead are disturbed
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- Category: Philosofaith
- Written by M. U. Ndagi
- Hits: 547
For good reasons “there is”, whether in traditional or modern societies, “always a place designated for every human activity.” That is why, for instance, you do not find a boys’ hostel in a boarding school sited close to a female hostel just as a library is not conventionally located within the neighbourhood of a market. Similarly, it would be absurd to find a military shooting range located within the vicinity of a town or city. In Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja, the sale of alcohol as well as the rearing of cattle and sheep in residential areas are offences punishable by environmental laws. In the modern world, efforts are made by relevant authorities to organize human activities. This explains why urban towns and cities are planned, designed and compartmentalized into residential, commercial and industrial layouts to keep “square pegs”, for health and safety reasons, “in square holes.”
My attention was recently drawn to what may be described as “a tale of two strange sites” in an urban town in Niger State. The town is Agaie; a Muslim community. A beer parlor (even though it qualifies to be called a night club) was recently sited directly opposite a graveyard with just a bush path (though motorable) separating them. It is, in the opinion of this column, that such is one of the most brazen ways of disrespect the dead. Various religions and cultures all over the world allude to the belief that the soul of the dead deserves to live in peace after going through all the tribulations and stormy sea of survival on earth. Against this notion, cemeteries are usually sited in the outskirts of towns and cities; far away from human activities. It would be a different argument if development spreads (as can be noticed in various modern human settlements) across initial boundaries; converting what hitherto were outskirts into townships and neighbourhoods.However, the night club sited near an existing cemetery in Agaie did not find itself there as a result of physical expansion of the town. The graveyard situated along Boroko road in the outskirts of the town has been there for several decades. It is the only “developed” site in that part of the town and has remained so until the beer parlor recently arrived to “dislodge” it.
In this case, however, it is the beer parlor that should give way to the graveyard and not vice-versa. If residents of the town were to desire a new cemetery and in the process acquired a plot of land that is practically discovered (after purchase) to be next to a bear parlor or such premises where sin rather than righteousness is the norm, it is only proper that the acquired plot is abandoned for a more befitting site elsewhere. But since it is the bear parlor that came to meet the cemetery, it is ideal that authorities concerned should find an amicable way of relocating the “joint”.
It is because various cultures and religions (particularly Islam and Christianity) care for the dead that efforts are made by the living to fence cemeteries. People sometimes employ security guards to watch over graveyards. It is also out of care for the dead that human remains are handled with utmost concern; taking every medical step to prevent decomposition. The least respect expected from a Muslim for the dead is for him to stand up whenever he cites a bier. The Prophet (SAW) once stood up when a funeral procession passed by him. When he was reminded that it was the bier of a Jew, the Prophet (SAW) replied that it did not matter. This is why I do not think the location of a beer parlor near a cemetery can be considered a way of caring of the dead. Should we call it “care” if someone who patronizes the beer parlor suddenly misses his way under the influence of alcohol and staggers in to the cemetery and thus engages in acts detrimental to the dead? This indeed, if anything, amounts more to disturbing of the dead. This, perhaps, could be another “wonder” of our time since “wonders” they say “shall never end”. This is happening in the same community where a heretical Muslim “scholar” was recently sacked for allegedly declaring that it is not obligatory for Muslims to fast in the month of Ramadan just as a Muslim could also keep as many wives as he could pay their bride prices.
It has been reported that owners of the plot in question were deceived by the beer parlor operator that he was going to use it to establish a cottage industry for the production of sachet water (otherwise called pure water). This ulterior intent facilitated the public bar operator’s acquisition of the plot of land. Attempts made by the original owners of the land to retrieve it (after it was used for a beer parlor) for a replacement in another part of the town ended in vain. It is claimed that the operator of the beer parlor is refusing to co-operate with the other party’s negotiation moves. His argument, it is claimed, is that he cannot be obliged to accept an offer of relocation because he has been licensed by the Niger State government to operate liquor premises. He may be right to have acquired the license to operate a beer parlor, but he may not absolutely be right to insist that the beer parlor must be sited close to the cemetery.
The Niger State Liquor Board which should have played prominent role in resolving the issue was dissolved since last year and a new one is still being awaited. However, a serious moral issue such as this requires that leaders in the community should, in collaboration with local government authorities, be sensitive enough to find a way out of this despicable matter. May Allah (SWT) guide us to respect the dead as they lay in their graves, amin.
Sunday Trust
A town where the dead are disturbed
Category: Philosofaith Written by M. U. Ndagi Hits: 547
For good reasons “there is”, whether in traditional or modern societies, “always a place designated for every human activity.” That is why, for instance, you do not find a boys’ hostel in a boarding school sited close to a female hostel just as a library is not conventionally located within the neighbourhood of a market. Similarly, it would be absurd to find a military shooting range located within the vicinity of a town or city. In Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja, the sale of alcohol as well as the rearing of cattle and sheep in residential areas are offences punishable by environmental laws. In the modern world, efforts are made by relevant authorities to organize human activities. This explains why urban towns and cities are planned, designed and compartmentalized into residential, commercial and industrial layouts to keep “square pegs”, for health and safety reasons, “in square holes.”
My attention was recently drawn to what may be described as “a tale of two strange sites” in an urban town in Niger State. The town is Agaie; a Muslim community. A beer parlor (even though it qualifies to be called a night club) was recently sited directly opposite a graveyard with just a bush path (though motorable) separating them. It is, in the opinion of this column, that such is one of the most brazen ways of disrespect the dead. Various religions and cultures all over the world allude to the belief that the soul of the dead deserves to live in peace after going through all the tribulations and stormy sea of survival on earth. Against this notion, cemeteries are usually sited in the outskirts of towns and cities; far away from human activities. It would be a different argument if development spreads (as can be noticed in various modern human settlements) across initial boundaries; converting what hitherto were outskirts into townships and neighbourhoods.However, the night club sited near an existing cemetery in Agaie did not find itself there as a result of physical expansion of the town. The graveyard situated along Boroko road in the outskirts of the town has been there for several decades. It is the only “developed” site in that part of the town and has remained so until the beer parlor recently arrived to “dislodge” it.
In this case, however, it is the beer parlor that should give way to the graveyard and not vice-versa. If residents of the town were to desire a new cemetery and in the process acquired a plot of land that is practically discovered (after purchase) to be next to a bear parlor or such premises where sin rather than righteousness is the norm, it is only proper that the acquired plot is abandoned for a more befitting site elsewhere. But since it is the bear parlor that came to meet the cemetery, it is ideal that authorities concerned should find an amicable way of relocating the “joint”.
It is because various cultures and religions (particularly Islam and Christianity) care for the dead that efforts are made by the living to fence cemeteries. People sometimes employ security guards to watch over graveyards. It is also out of care for the dead that human remains are handled with utmost concern; taking every medical step to prevent decomposition. The least respect expected from a Muslim for the dead is for him to stand up whenever he cites a bier. The Prophet (SAW) once stood up when a funeral procession passed by him. When he was reminded that it was the bier of a Jew, the Prophet (SAW) replied that it did not matter. This is why I do not think the location of a beer parlor near a cemetery can be considered a way of caring of the dead. Should we call it “care” if someone who patronizes the beer parlor suddenly misses his way under the influence of alcohol and staggers in to the cemetery and thus engages in acts detrimental to the dead? This indeed, if anything, amounts more to disturbing of the dead. This, perhaps, could be another “wonder” of our time since “wonders” they say “shall never end”. This is happening in the same community where a heretical Muslim “scholar” was recently sacked for allegedly declaring that it is not obligatory for Muslims to fast in the month of Ramadan just as a Muslim could also keep as many wives as he could pay their bride prices.
It has been reported that owners of the plot in question were deceived by the beer parlor operator that he was going to use it to establish a cottage industry for the production of sachet water (otherwise called pure water). This ulterior intent facilitated the public bar operator’s acquisition of the plot of land. Attempts made by the original owners of the land to retrieve it (after it was used for a beer parlor) for a replacement in another part of the town ended in vain. It is claimed that the operator of the beer parlor is refusing to co-operate with the other party’s negotiation moves. His argument, it is claimed, is that he cannot be obliged to accept an offer of relocation because he has been licensed by the Niger State government to operate liquor premises. He may be right to have acquired the license to operate a beer parlor, but he may not absolutely be right to insist that the beer parlor must be sited close to the cemetery.
The Niger State Liquor Board which should have played prominent role in resolving the issue was dissolved since last year and a new one is still being awaited. However, a serious moral issue such as this requires that leaders in the community should, in collaboration with local government authorities, be sensitive enough to find a way out of this despicable matter. May Allah (SWT) guide us to respect the dead as they lay in their graves, amin.