REHABILITATING ZUJUNG CEMETRY - A COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY

(Daily Graphic, Jan 24, 2012, page 19)

IF we were all destined to perish on the same day and time, we would not have to worry about how nice or dirty our cemeteries are, after all, making the cemetery neat would not bring any comfort to the dead.

The reality however is that we would die and be buried one after the other, so many of us would have to visit the cemetery on many occasions in our lifetime.

It therefore behoves on us to keep the cemetery in good condition so that each time we lose someone, we would not hesitate to visit the cemetery.

It is also incumbent on us to dignify the cemetery because there lay the remains of people we shared laughter, joy, pain and all manner of emotions with when they were alive.

On one morning, whiles on my way to work, I tuned to one of the local radio stations in Tamale, Zaa Radio, and heard an elderly man speaking about efforts that he and some other persons were making to build a fence wall to protect the Zujung cemetery.

I became interested in what these volunteers were doing, because the Zujung cemetery, located off the Tamale-Kumasi road, is the most popular graveyard in Tamale.

However, the current state of this cemetery leaves much to be desired, especially with regards to sanitation. Some people leaving near to the cemetery have turned it into a toilet and dumpsite.

Structures are being raised very close to the cemetery and, hence, the boundaries of the cemetery are being narrowed gradually. There are also no guidelines to bring orderliness in the digging of graves and so graves are located haphazardly on various portions of the graveyard.

It is surprising that in spite of the poor state of this cemetery, many people, including political and community leaders, go there regularly to bury their loved ones and yet have not made any effort at putting the cemetery in good shape.

So, later in the day, I drove to the cemetery and lo and behold, I saw four people busily putting up a fence wall.

But how much work can four people do on such a big burial site, I asked the leader of the group, 72-year old Baba Kisco and he said with divine providence, he was hopeful they would do the work till finish.

Mr Kisco said in 2009, he noticed that the cemetery was being encroached upon and he was deeply worried because he thought in future, there would not be any more space for burial.

“I began to make announcements in mosques appealing for support for the construction of a fence wall to protect the cemetery. I asked for cement, sand, water, and other items,” he said.

Baba Kisco said the response was slow in coming but as the months rolled into years, and the years went by, he was able to mobilise a number of these items and therefore decided to start the project.

He said in early 2011, he and three others – Abukari Munkaila, Nanumdoo Fuseini and Tahiru Fuseini – moulded 10,000 blocks.

In November that same year, they finally decided to dig the foundation and raise the wall beginning from the Northern side of the entrance to the cemetery. Till date, if you visit the cemetery, you would find them there working feverishly.

Mr Kisco pointed out that although the four of them were physically engaged in the work, they were being supervised by the Chief Imams of Tamale Central Mosque and Afajura Mosque, Alhaji Abdul-Salam and Alhaji Seidu Abubakari Zakaria, respectively.

He said occasionally, somebody would come to join hands and later disappear, explaining that some people fear to work at the cemetery.

Baba Kisco said since the work begun, the support has not been coming consistently.

“Once in a while, somebody would bring us some bags of cement or trips of sand,” he said, adding that he owed so much gratitude to some food vendors in town who have continued to provide them food during the work.

Mr Kisco said he was very optimistic that the work would be executed till finish if they get adequate cement, iron rods, river sand, aggregate, tanks, water, wheel barrow, shovels, pick axe and other construction materials.

I asked the four volunteers if the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly (TaMA) had offered them any form of support and they indicated that the assembly provided part of the construction materials, although the MCE, Alhaji Haruna Friday had not yet visited the project site.

As the conversation with the four people progressed, a group of people brought the remains of a loved one to bury and we joined them to bid farewell to the deceased.

When we returned to the project site, the four people made me understand that the construction of the fence wall was not the only thing they were doing to keep the cemetery in good shape.

“Each year, we come together to weed the grass in the cemetery. We have been doing this since 1997,” Baba Kisco said, adding that the four of them have been doing community service for a long time.

In fact, the four of them were the brains and hands behind the rehabilitation of sanitary facilities at the morgue of the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH).

Meanwhile, some casual labourers engaged by the TaMA to undertake burial activities at the cemetery told this paper that they were witnesses to the good work being done by the four volunteers.

One of them, Mr Abdul-Kahad said the construction of the fence wall would not only stop encroachment, but also keep away unscrupulous persons who visit the cemetery to attend to nature’s call and to do illicit activities, like ‘juju’.

When the Daily Graphic spoke to the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of TaMA, Mr Issah Musah, he said the assembly had not shirked its responsibility towards keeping the cemetery in good shape.

“The construction of a fence wall had always been on the drawing board of the assembly, until an individual by name Yaho Yaho galvanised support to commence the project,” the stated.

He said the assembly was collaborating with Yaho Yaho to construct the fence wall.

The reality however remains that when you go to the project site, it is not a contractor or assembly officials who are there constructing or supervising the work. It is Baba Kisco and his team.

It is therefore high time that the assembly and other corporate institutions, politicians, chiefs and other inhabitants contribute their quota towards making the Zujung cemetery a decent place.

For those who have already done so, May Allah bless them abundantly.