|
New Page 3
Our wasteful flamboyant burials
EUGENE SUNDAY ODIKA
THESE days
burials of dead Nigerians have taken a new and worrisome dimension. The
development is worrisome as christians and leaders who are supposed to point the
way to others are involved in unnecessary and wasteful flamboyance and pageantry
on occasions that should be mournful and sober.
In the past there used to be a clear
distinction between christian burial and non-christian or "heathen" burial.
Today, both believers and non-believers seem to be dancing towards the same
direction, deviating totally from the way it should be, may be, as a way of
demonstrating wealth or showing off, thereby placing the less privileged in
extremely difficult position when they lose their loved ones, parents and other
relations. This trend is not Godly, but satanic.
It is very sad to observe that the
government is also deeply involved in this charade. Those in governance
contribute immensely to flamboyance in burial because they see it as an
opportunity for political gathering whereby huge sums of money are lavished on
entertaining, accommodating and transporting, guests and associates, including
other incidental expenses. They spend all these to host fellow politicians from
all parts of the country.
Come to think of it, does it seem proper
that politicians should turn burial ceremonies to political gatherings? Another
forum would have been better for such political gatherings. In some cases,
government at various levels have to vote money from public treasury for burial
ceremonies. Things of this nature should be discouraged. It is unheard of and
unobtainable in other developed or civilised countries of the world.
Federal, state and local governments
should stop wasting huge financial resources that should have been channelled
towards meaningful development projects on flamboyant burial ceremonies. When
one passes away from the face of the earth, whether untimely or timely, that is
at a ripe age when such a person has fulfilled his stay on earth by God’s grace,
it should be seen as a sad moment because one of us is no more, meaning that it
should be a period of mourning. But unfortunately, it has been turned to a
period of merriment, a period of celebration, a period of jubilation, a period
of show off and demonstration of wealth.
No matter from which angle one looks at
it, this practice cannot be justified as a reasonable thing to do especially
when it is remembered that there is no practical gain to be derived from such
jamborees at the end of it all.
What is bothering one over this issue is
the fact that the passing away of most of these people are as a result of lack
of provision of necessities of life such as proper feeding, conducive
environment, etc. After they have passed away, it is then that their children in
particular or relations would start to lavish the money they would have spent
during the lifetime of their parents to take adequate care of them.
Some who live in the city never bothered
to see their parents or even send money for their upkeep or visit them regularly
when they were sick. But when such unfortunate ones pass away, such children
will begin to remember the money they stashed away somewhere or they will be
going from one friend or the other borrowing money to demonstrate artificial
wealth by unprofitable extravagant form of burial ceremony that is prevailing
these days.
Every parent would prefer that their
children take adequate care of them while they are still alive without involving
in a show off after they had passed away, in most cases as a result of lack of
medical attention or lack of fund to provide the necessities of life for them.
As a religious leader and responsible
citizen, I am advocating a simplest form of burial ceremonies for christians and
non-christians.
For instance, are Moslems not human beings
like us? Why is it that they have more understanding about the end of man on
earth than anybody else by their simple method of burial ceremony known all over
the world?
Such flamboyance in burial is not wise.
God created man in his own image and likeness. He used mud to mould man and
breathed into that and it became a living soul. When that soul departs what
remains is no longer that person but the same mud. When the departing body is
laid to rest on the ground, no matter how solid the casket is, he or she must
decompose. Maggots will eat the body which automatically turns to mud where it
originated from. When a man has passed away he is no longer a party to what is
happening on earth. It is therefore, Godly that we take proper care of our
parents or loved ones and relations while they are still alive.
I have travelled to major cities of the
world and I have never observed people engage in flamboyance in burials as it is
done here.
In United States of America, Britain,
Portugal, France, Holland, Germany to mention just a few, what is obtainable in
most of these nations is that there are undertakers who are merely paid an
amount for all that is involved in all the stages of the burial.
After that the people return to their
individual houses or they assemble at an agreed location to have cups of tea and
snacks. Only those that are not feeling too bad, who have the heart, are the
ones that participate in that simple and costless ceremony.
A lot of people are not aware that there
are demons of death. These demons of death are present at burial ceremonies to
take the glory, particularly when what should be a proper Christian burial
ceremony is not observed. At the end of such burial ceremonies, those demons of
death take decision as to who is the next to die. It does not matter how long it
takes. That is why in a proper Christian burial ceremony, serious prayers are
made to bind demons of death.
Another cause of untimely deaths that are
now rampant in our society is lack of proper care because of the level of
poverty in the country. As of today, many people cannot afford to go to the
hospital because of high cost of drugs and hospital charges.
One other cause of premature death in the
country today is the use of fake drugs. This has been proved by the commendable
activities of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC)
against fake and adulterated drugs.
Frustration as a result of problems
associated with life which results to high blood pressure also causes untimely
death among the people. Because there are no free medical facilities, people
cannot just walk into the hospital to at least check their blood pressure free.
A lot of people in the country have developed high blood pressure without
knowing it. That is why you find that most of the deaths are as a result of
stroke.
A good per cent of people die too due to
lack of adequate feeding necessary to nourish the body because they cannot
afford it. This is death caused by starvation. That is why governments have to
urgently do something about the standard of living and the level of poverty in
the country.
One is of the view that those who should
be responsible for designing the simplest form of burial should be the
traditional rulers, the local governments, the state governments and the
churches. They should act on time because a lot of the national and individual
wealth is being wasted through burials.
There are some towns or communities within
the southern states that traditional rulers have introduced some reforms and
they are working. There has not been any adverse reactions from the people. For
instance, there are some towns that have stopped vigils for the dead and the
natives of such towns or communities have accepted the decision.
Those who are living should reject this
ugly trend for it will pay every family that made up the society whether rich or
poor, a good dividend. It is ungodly to use burial as a show off and
demonstration of wealth thereby placing the less privileged ones in the society
in a difficult position.
•Dr. Odika, former general manager, Federal Airport
Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), is the General Overseer of Church of Faith Bible
Ministry, Ikeja, Lagos.
|
