As this year’s rainy season intensifies, residents of Potiskum town in Yobe State have continued to express serious concerns over the deplorable conditions of some graveyards in the ancient town most of which have now been submerged by water.
One of the concerned citizens who gave his name as Mr. Abdullahi Mamman frowned at the situation, pointing out that, ‘the condition of graveyards in Potiskum is becoming source of concern to the citizens, whenever it rains death bodies are exposed due to flooding’.
Africa Today News, New York gathered that as flood continues to devastate the communities, graveyards in the town were not spared thereby washing away graves, a development that triggered communal effort where donated trucks of sand as well as other materials to rebury exposed dead bodies.
To this end, the residents have now began to appeal to the government to intervene as a matter of urgent public importance as, ‘graveyard is everyone’s final destination, if we ignore to repair it, one day we will find ourselves deposited there in such a deplorable conditions.’
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Africa Today News, New York gathered that there are eight graveyards in Potiskum town and all of them need to be rehabilitated.
A resident, who lives close to the area, Shagari Mohammed Ibrahim, said the area had never witnessed such a situation in the last 10 years, when the fencing of the graveyard was completed.
He said the flood had destroyed houses and many of the graves were filled up.
‘The situation is posing danger to the lives of residents. Our children are especially at risk because dangerous reptiles like snakes are often seen coming out from the graveyards’
Mallam Usman Garba, an Islamic scholar in the area, said he was worried at the number of graveyards that were affected.
‘Graveyard is a final home for everyone, and seeing graves of our loved ones submerged in water is really frightening.
‘For us in this community, it is the only one around, and we buried hundreds of corpses and still have spaces to accommodate more.’
Mallam Usman called for an urgent action by the local government council to save the situation, adding that the community had intervened but the situation had degenerated beyond their power.