who wants to be cremated?

Cremation Box that contains the remains of the late Mrs .Caroline Molara Agbebi Adejumo[Nee Ishola]

Pa Popoola Olaniyi Ishola

Cremation story

Who wants to be cremated?

When the sponsored Bill on Cremation   started   few weeks ago , it generated a lot of   controversies, while many frowned against it only few accepted that it is high time Nigerians  started cremating . But Pa Popoola Olaniyi Ishola  recently buried the box that contained the ashes of his cremated sister who was cremated in London in 1979.He buried the box in his compund in Awe town near Oyo , Oyo state.Taiwo Abiodun writes

Who wants to be cremated? .Put it   in a lay man’s   language : Who would like his body to be burnt into ashes when he is dead and gone? .This is what has been generating controversies  for the past  three months when  a member of Lagos  House of Assembly, Honourable Hodewu Suru Avoseh  passed the Bill and prayed to the Lagos State government  to pass it into Law .

Cremation is a method of using  high heat and flame to physically reduce  human body to ashes  and also crushing the bones into a powder .After cremation the family may decide to  throw the ashes into the sea, mountain tops, or desert , it may how however be kept at home for ever or the container be buried in the garden, or cemetery.

Since   the Bill proposed by the   Honourable  that  unclaimed dead bodies and unidentified ones in the government  mortuaries  should be cremated   mouths have been wagging while many opposed to it  that it is unAfrican and not in our culture, few attempted  efforts to sell the idea  it to the populace. When approached   , Hon Avoseh  said nobody is forced to cremate his family member compulsory but was borne out of the non availability of land in Lagos state, he added that   the rate at which  the Lagos state is  going , it might not have space again to bury their beloved ones so therefore it is advisable to be burning corpses in order to save costs and preserved  land.

He said ‘’The bill on cremation is borne out  of the situation of our mortuaries which  is appalling, it  is the displeasure of the state of mortuary in the state the committee reported that what they saw was decomposed bodies lying there for 2, 3 years decomposing’’

According to the Honourable , An Adhoc committee which was led by  one Hon. A.  Adeyeye was set up to look into the state of the mortuaries in Lagos state  and  from   their  report, Avoseh  said  ‘' when those members were sent out with the hospital attendants and officers, from what they told us they were not allowed to do the mass burial. What they said   they experienced was appalling , as they met  resistance where they wanted to do the mass burial. They were chased   away by the community members.  The environmental officers despite the security officers that were provided for their protection  ,they  were  all humiliated as no community wants to release their land for the  mass burial. We have received so many petitions   that the dead bodies   buried in the areas causes a lot of foul odour of which they can no longer condone.

Crematorium

Cremation is not new , according to Cremation Statistics , the first Cremation was in America in 1876, and the USA cremation was only one percent in 1900., While in 1960, the USA recorded  three per cent of cremation. The Roman Church approved Cremation in 1963, while in the USA, the number of cremation increased to 10 per cent in 1980., and in 2005 it increased to 30 per cent.

India is noted to have the highest cremation history , as it recorded 100 per cent in 2005, while Japan has 97 per cent in 2005, Nevada has 65  per cent in 2005 , Tennessee has 5 per cent recorded in 2005.

In Nigeria, though cremation is not popular , but it is believed that the Indians among Nigerians do cremate their dead ones but not pronounced.

According to Avoseh ‘’The Bill is in  progress. Most of us don’t know what crematorium is , many thought it is just to throw in  corpses into live furnace as it is being done in the old., into live fire , but the crematorium we are talking about is  a systematic burning ,it involves burning but it is  a modern system of burning,’’ Avoseh said, adding ‘’We went as far as Florida to see how it is being practised by St Matthews and when we got there, we were convinced of what we saw and experienced .Now   the Lagos  state government is building crematorium here  and it will soon  be completed for use,. The only thing we are waiting  for  is the law to back it up’’ Avoseh  told The Nation.

He affirmed that the crematorium proposed is for the unclaimed corpses, and it is not for every dead  ’’ we only make provision for voluntary cremation,  if somebody wishes to be cremated for his dead body or his relation that had died we make a provision for that if per adventure  we have Chinese, we have Indians among us living  in our midst and  that is  their  culture ,cremation,  so we make provision for that and back it with Law. This is not addressing every corpse to be buried in Lagos state, that every dead person should be cremated in Lagos state , no, that is not law.’’

Witness cremation

Avesoh said he had seen or witnessed how cremation is being  carried out, he said ‘’A  lot of cremation took place when we visited  a place in Florida in  America .Within one hour, cremation is done .The process is simple, the crematorium is an oven of which electricity is being  provided. In the cremation process if  they are unclaimed corpses , say   about 3 or 4 lying in the crematorium , then the switch will be on, it is automatic and it has duration  and within few hours the corpses will turn into ashes and will be packed together and stored or saved . We were there when voluntary cremation took place, we were there when the number of corpses  brought there within two or three hours was over 300 voluntarily and they were in cardboard  coffin , not in  caskets  because you cannot cremate casket, so it is cheap , easy and no ceremony attached .’’  

Public cemeteries

A visit to some  of the public  cemeteries in  Lagos  is convincing  that the cemeteries are full over the years. It   therefore shows that   there is need  for another location if the idea of cremation is not acceptable .At Matori, Mushin  cemetery one could see some  of the tombs  which had been there for  over 50years, as many had their dates  inscribed on them. Some have   50,30,20 years on the tombs  but these are exclusively for the so called rich ones in those days who bought family vaults. A staff who does not want his name in print said ‘’  But today, some of the vaults  have caved –in,  some  vaults   are virtually empty  and, no wonder that some of  these  suspected ritualists make the  place their business centres, as many had been caught in the past for possessing human parts. Not only this , it is quite difficult to have a space, therefore within a month, three to four corpses are buried on top of another .Other  shallow vaults  are unkempt as  foul odour  is emitting from  them  since the graves are not deep. Although the environment is clean and trees  have sprouted there producing green and healthy leaves which form shade over the area .Another staff said ‘’ we do take care of people’s corpses  who give us good money and this would make the vault be catered for sometime , but the fact  is that there is no more land in Lagos state., and the Local Council has failed to perform their duties .

 At the Ikoyi cemetery , the story is not different . One of the staff   who said he is a good   source said ‘’ about 10people are buried in the same vault  within one or two months  .The bitter truth is that these   places are  congested, there was a time  when  human skulls are just like pepper  and tomatoes  because they are bought cheaply and if they are not seen cheaply they could not have been bought  cheaply too. When about ten to twenty people are buried in the same vault no matter how deep the vault is it will be congested one day. The fact is that there is no more space here, no more land here.

Archbishop Olubunmi   Okogie kicked against cremation and said ‘’ it is unacceptable’’

Speaking with Very   Rev.  Msgr. Gabriel Osu , the Director of Social Communication of Lagos Catholic Church, he frowned against it and said ‘’ the law makers should stop this debate and look for other things to do. How can   we talk about cremation in a society that respects human body   , but unfortunately we  no longer respect our dead ones  seeing the way we treat our dead ones. ’’.

He continued ’’ we have our own cemetery in Ikoyi and we do take care of   it. Go and look at it .I think the state government should look for alternative land  and  buy land like other private undertakers and others who bought land where they  buried their clients’ bodies.

In the case of cremation, Osu said since we believed in the resurrection and   the  after life , we should bury the dead in the ground in order to  resurrect on the day of resurrection.

Rev,[Dr]Moses Iloh  described the idea of cremation as nonsense,’’ there is no where in  the Bible where  the Lord approved of cremation. People who burn   bodies do not understand .God took time to create us in His own image. When a man is dead it is proper to lay him and bury in the ground   for him to decay as the Bible rightly puts it , we are  from the earth we came and to the dust we shall return. Burning of bodies is   unChristian  .The idea is from the Hindus , Buddhists and Chintos .They don’t understand and know God as the creator.’’

On the issue of lack of  land in Lagos , Iloh disagreed and said ‘’ in the world today we have about 4billion people and because of the wickedness of man  some don’t have a house but there is always a place to lay  their heads in the night. In the day, you see people walking   thinking they would not have a place to lay their heads but when   night comes you will not find anybody outside as they had gone somewhere to sleep. The state government should go and buy land  and find ample facilities of burying  their people . You cannot burn the dead because   the spirit belongs to God’’.

Pa Popoola Olaniyi Ishola

He sees nothing wrong in cremation , and said it will soon be in vogue in Nigeria. He, last  week buried the ashes of his cremated sister in England since  1979, in his compound in Awe, Oyo state.

Penultimate Saturday, Pa Popoola Olaniyi Ishola ,78,  brought out his late elder sister’s remnants [ashes]sealed  a small box he had kept in his house  since 1979 and buried it in his compound in Awe.

‘’ That small box contained the remnants of my sister , Madam Caroline Omolara Agbebi Adejumo[nee Ishola] who  died in England in 1979, then her children were still small. I was there during   the cremation, it was a simple thing . There was a church service , The family members  of the deceased  attended  the service ,which was   conducted by a Christian  and thereafter  the coffin was wheeled  into the factory  , and within 10minutes everything was over as the incinerator has melted  the body and the casket, and a wooden sealed box appeared in the other end of the factory with her name engraved on it . The small box   that contained  the ashes is then given to the family members of the deceased. All these   is done for a fee paid by the family ’’  .

Pa Ishola said   immediately he came back from England then , he went to the church for another funeral service in  Awe, his home town in Oyo state, Nigeria, ‘’Now , I  am repeating it, I want to bury the box that contained the ashes in my compound.’’

Asked how he coped with the ashes for 33years without having nightmares, the septuagenarian looked  at  the ceiling and parted his lips with a smile, and  said’’ I feel comfortable .It is like I am  superstitious , as I  feel like my sister’s spirit is woven around me , protecting me .I believe she was no more physical but spiritual . I felt protected throughout .I have seen where people in overseas keep the ashes of  their beloved ones on top of their shelves showing visitors that that is where they keep the remnants of their beloved ones .Some bury the small box and plant beautiful and flowers with good aroma on them and as they blossom and grow , they tell you that the scent of their beloved ones is smelling fine.

Asked why he decided to bury the box after 33years, the old man defended himself and said ‘’ But when my sister’s daughter who is based in England said she wanted her mother to be buried  I said okay, let them come and do that .We dug a place in my compound where  the box will be interred.’’

Ishola   supported cremation, the old man said ‘’ there is nothing bad in cremation as Lagos planned it , you see there is no more land again. The reason why they cremate bodies in advanced countries is   lack of land. I like it  , it is practical .I happened to be in India about five times  and they burnt  corpses in hundreds in the public with firewood!. In South Eastern Asian countries it is a normal thing.’’

In spite of  all the defence he gave  on  cremation, Ishola,  does not want to be cremated  when he is gone as he said he has enough land and places in his home town. His words

‘’Since  I have houses and there is  enough land here in my home town ,I   don’t think my body should   be cremated  as their custom in some of these countries where they don’t have land,’’, he continued .

‘’In Lagos , it is like they have foreseen what  would happen in the future, that would tell you that Lagos is congested with corpses in the cemeteries .I once lived  at 24, Igbosere  street ,in Lagos , where most of the prominent tombs have been exhumed  and reburied somewhere. They exhumed the body of Bishop Ajayi Crowther from The Cathedral Church , in Lagos to Lokoja, the church took a decision over the matter. So cremation is supported where there is no enough land ‘’.

Niyi, one of the children of the deceased   too argued in support of

cremation and said ‘’ I support cremation because   I cannot imagine seeing maggots coming out from the body of a human being and   stinking! .When  I am gone I also want to be cremated.”.

Speaking about his experience in witnessing his mother’s  cremation, he said ‘’ I was very young when   my mother died and was cremated , I  live in England and could see that  they cremate, so I found nothing bad or wrong in that.

VOX POP

Ndubuisi Maduka [a boutique owner]

Yes, ok, why not .

‘’If there is no more land in Lagos and  the state believes cremation is the only solution then that is okay. If I die  , in Lagos I would be taken to my village and  if there is land to bury me fine , but if there is none and the government suggested cremation it is still okay so far it is the government policy. Yes, it is true that cremation is not part of  our culture  but when it comes to the issue  of non availability of land we have no choice than to be cremated .Yes, I support it if that is   the cogent  reason they could give’’.

Chief Bola   Ogunmola, a retired  engineer from NITEL

Cremate me

I   love it, it is only strange in Nigeria because many are not used to it. I have told  my children  not to bother to celebrate or buy expensive coffin , it is all waste ... They can cremate me ,  it is okay. The moment a man is dead  he is dead and gone. But in Nigeria, we enjoy celebration  , spending and wasting  our hard earned resources, money, land and other things. The Hindus, Chinese do it , when a man is burnt with engine , the ashes are kept in a bottle and given to  the family or sprinkle on the river .Some keep the ashes in their  cupboard and started showing it to all and sundry. The Hindus , appreciate  this more than anything. But in Nigeria here , you will see those who cannot afford three square meal per day celebrating the dead, spending hard earned money on  the dead that they did not do when alive .Creation is okay, the fact is that it has not  been popular

  Supo Adetifa,  

It is a bad idea and Unchristian

‘’I  don’t believe in  cremation .It is against the will of God. It is evil, it is ungodly and devilish. How can you burn human being and say  you are doing the right thing?.I don’t like it, I don’t believe in  it .In fact those who do it cannot  generalise it that all of them are doing it. In Yoruba Culture, we respect the dead, even in Africa as a whole. We would like to know where the dead are buried in order to be going there   to pray when the need arises. That is why Muslim bury their corpses  one hour, to avoid contamination .We need to respect our culture , values and belief. I strongly disagreed, the  Lagos state government should go and acquire more lands. There are lots and lots of land wasting away and I  believe they  can be used for this purpose’’.

Well, the debate is on , according to Honourable Avoseh ,the state government has already  constructed crematorium , and it  is for the Bill to be passed and become Law. The  world is waiting.

Pastor Duromola   Samuel

It is wrong

The General Overseer of Christ Worshippers Church, Warri said he is totally against it  .’’Where did you find it in the Bible that they burnt dead bodies?. This is wrong  ,it is  unchristian and ungodly. I  wonder why we should be thinking about cremation at this  time .We have enough land all over  the country, immediately Lagos state started this now other states will follow same .We are not Hindus or Indians who don’t respect the dead. We revered   and respect our dead ones , we don’t throw them away or burn them in Africa, it is not in our culture. No, Never!.

With this controversies , now  the question is :who wants to be cremated when he is dead?