From January this year to May, a total of 1517 dead bodies were buried at Bauchi Central Graveyard Dungulbi, along Bauchi Gombe Highway, figures from the registry of the graveyard have shown.
The period between January and May was the time during which the immediate past administration of Governor muahammed Abdullahi Abubakar of Bauchi state is reported to have spent 2.3 billion Naira in the supply of woods/mahogany and shroud used in the burial of dead bodies in the graveyard.
Early this week in a statement, Ladan Salihu the spokesperson to the current Governor, Bala Muhammed Abdulkadir said handing over documents received from the immediate past administration indicated that the government had spent the said money in the supply of these essential commodities to the graveyard within just five months.
A breakdown of the figures showed that the M A’s (as he is popularly called in the state) government might have spent about N1, 517,000 (one million five hundred and seventeen thousand Naira) on each of these 1517 corpses buried in the graveyard.
This amount claimed to have been spent by the government does not however include the cost of digging the grave, as that is normally paid to grave diggers by relatives of the dead person on arrival at the cemetery.
Investigation by WikkiTimes indicates that government only supplied woods (planks cut into pieces for placement on the graves), but not shroud known as (Likkafani in the local Hausa language) used to cover dead bodies.
An official in the graveyard registry told WikkiTimes that depending on length of the pieces of planks, an adult grave requires only between 9 to 12 pieces.
A carpenter Danlami Abubakar who attended many burials in the graveyard during this period, said an average of 2 planks were enough to cover the grave of an adult, regardless of his length or size.
A plank is now sold at N2,100 at Muda Lawal market Bauchi
WikkiTimes investigation reveals that the state government under Governor Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar was only expending the money to supply plank of woods.
Base on Islamic tradition, five basic materials are required to cover a dead body, which include shroud, (Likkafani), leaves, water, plank or woods and water.
Of the five materials needed for funeral, the MA Abubakar’s administration only supplied planks, as the remaining four are traditionally supplied by families and friends of the deceased.
Figures exaggerated—former governor’s aide
Less than forty eight hours after the N2.3 billion graveyard expenditure report made its way into mainstream and social media, an aide to the former governor described the figure in circulation as ‘exaggeration’ of the actual amount spent by his boss’s government on woods and shrouds at the Bauchi Central Graveyard.
The social media aide to the former governor Mukhtar Jibril said his findings showed that the M A’s government only spent N1.2 billion and not N2.3 billion as being widely reported in the media.
Jibril in a statement made available to newsmen in Bauchi said the M A’s government inherited the practice from his predecessors and decided to continue with it, because of its significance to the people.
” However, the project like any other one of same magnitude, was awarded to qualified contractors. Based on the available verifiable record, a total sum of N1,270,743,520 had been expended since its inception and not the exaggerated figure of 2.3bn mischievously posted on the social media by critics.”
“We urge the good people of the state to disregard this insinuation and act of desperation by elements of retrogression.”
“Besides, every contract awarded was subjected to the scrutiny and appraisal of the due process agency in accordance with public procurement law, contract agreement, payment of tax due on such contracts and other requirements.”
“Therefore, the figure posted was maliciously misquoted hence blatant lies, misleading and bunkum calculated to portray the previous government in bad light to the innocent people of the state.” He said.
He alleged that the story was intended to distract people’s attention from the poor start of the present PDP administration marked by brigandage and affront to the rule of law and basic tenets of democracy.
The new figures
The new figures of N1,270,743,520 claimed to be the authentic amount spent on the burial of the dead ones in five months at the Bauchi Central Graveyard may still not go down well with many people of Bauchi state.
Divided among the 1517 buried in the graveyard from January to date, over N837,668 would have been spent by the immediate past administration on each of the corpses.
As at the time of filing this report, WikkiTimes is unable to establish if the government extends this gesture to Christian graveyard and other graveyards in major cities such as Azare, Misau, Ningi and Toro among others across the state
Depending on which figure one chooses to believe (either N1.5 million or N837,668), the money for each of the corpses surpassed the just N4,000 to N4,500 needed to buy the two planks for each of the corpses .
WikkiTimes’ findings reveal that the Bauchi State Government would have legitimately spent N6.8 million t bury all the 1517 people that died from January to May 2019.
