NAN-H-75
Cemetery
By Bukola Adewumi
Abuja, March 29, 2017 (NAN) Some residents of Jabi community, a suburb of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), have expressed worry over backlog of refuse that has taken over cemetery in the community.
The residents, who spoke in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja, decried the poor state of the burial ground.
They complained that it had also turned into a refuse dump and a ground for open defecation over some years.
Mr Sunday Yakubu, a resident of the community, said the cemetery had become a refuse dump because there was no dump site in the community.
He said “people have turned the cemetery to a dumpsite because there is no place to throw their refuse.
“If our people have where they will throw these refuse, they will not throw it in the cemetery.
“The cemetery should be respected because one day we all would be there.
“However, I am appealing to government to please help us clear the site and provide us with a place to dump our refuse.”
Mrs Stella Adams, a trader in the community, also said that the site had continually threatened the health of residents.
She said “the health of the people living around the area is in danger; the environment is not good for children; there are so many open faeces which can make people sick.
“Sometimes, people use polythene bags to defecate and throw into the cemetery.
“All these can cause outbreak of diseases.”
Adams also urged relevant authorities to check the challenge and ensure they proffered solution.
The trader called on residents to desist from the act as it was affecting them negatively.
She, however, appealed to residents to do the right thing because they were the ones living in the community.
Another resident, Mr Joseph Atu, a civil servant, also urged FCT administration to urgently look into the matter and save the community from outbreak of epidermic.
He said “I am living here because I cannot afford to rent house in a more decent place.
“Living in small community such as this is not a bad thing but we lack necessary social amenities such as water and toilets.”
He pleaded to government to intervene and evacuate the refuse to make the place look more decent and healthy for residents.
Miss Florence Zaka, a school teacher at the Jabi LEA Primary School, said the dumpsite would affect children in the community if nothing was done urgently. (NAN)
BOL/MNA/HA
============
Edited by Maureen Atuonwu/Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu