– Patrons Panic as Creditors Seize Ownership of Graveyard
– Will President Tinubu, Aderinokuns, Fowler, Okoya Thomas, Fashola, Danjuma, Others Relocate Their Grave Spots?
As it is on earth, so do many super-rich Nigerians want it to be in the afterlife. They want an extension of their life of luxury even when they are dead and buried. That is why some of Nigeria’s wealthiest, royals and aristocrats are spending millions of naira on where they would be interred when their time is up on earth.
And the number one choice of a befitting final resting place is none other than the Vaults and Gardens, Ikoyi. Regarded as the foremost rest haven for dearly departed relatives and friends, the promoters say it is also the most exquisite and aesthetically-pleasant private cemetery in the West African sub-region.
Yes, nobody makes a lovely corpse but Nigeria’s superrich would have none of that; the recent funeral culture among Nigeria’s high society sees them burying their dead in ways that emphasise the deceased’s earthly comfort and elegance. Current realities within the funeral economy point to the fact that death is not the ultimate leveller after all.
Indeed, the rich-poor dichotomy in life is also reflected in how the dead is eventually buried. And, undertakers are exploiting the opportunities to provide exclusive and comfy resting places for those who have the wherewithal.
In the bowels of the Vaults and Gardens also are the remains of the Rolls Royce-loving businessman, Akin Olugbade, who passed recently; Wale Aboderin, former Chairman of Punch Nigeria Limited; Mrs Esther Osunsade, the eldest sibling of Dr Mike Adenuga; and Chief Molade Okoya-Thomas, lawn tennis enthusiast, Governor Fashola’s father, Pa Ademola Fashola, Pastor Eskor Mfon, Chief Odunewu, Chief Awelenje, Pa Okome ,Tayo Aderinokun, Angela Onyeador, OtunbaGadaffi, GbegiOjora, Connie Madubuko, Prof AdetokunboSofoluwe, Akin Temple, Nike Shonibare, Titi Adenuga’s mother, Susanna Okome, Punch Chairman, Wale Aboderin, Tunji Okusanya,
Pa Remi Olowude, Funke Adedoyin, Tajudeen Disu, Funmi Suinner, and businessman among many other prominent Nigerians.
Interestingly, well-heeled Nigerians that aspire to be interred there go all out to pre-acquire a space before their time on earth is up.
Sadly, until recently, the Vaults and Gardens seemed like a perfect resting place for the affluent. But no sooner did creditors of the popular burial ground seize ownership of the facility and all its appurtenances than its patrons began to worry.
Since the publication of a Caveat Emptor notice on the cemetery’s entrance gate, last Friday, its powerful and influential patrons have been afflicted by worry and doubt over their fate in the event of their passing.
The note reads, “Kindly note that this property and its entire appurtenances are subject to receivership under the duly appointed receiver/manager.
“The public is hereby warned to cease and desist from dealing with any third party apart from the duly appointed receiver/manager.”
As of now, it is unknown whether people still have access to their dead or what becomes of the facility henceforth.
The posh and scenic Vaults and Gardens isn’t how you’d imagine the typical cemetery. The polished marble tombs and manicured gardens give off a sense of tranquility.
It’s pricey value and exclusivity are part of what makes it a top choice for the wealthy. Everything about the Vaults and Gardens bespeaks lavishness and class. From its well-manicured lawns and gardens, the walkways and driveways to the serene scenery and splendid landscape that exudes the aura of a peaceful memorial park, the private cemetery offers a luxury space or niche burial chambers for the superrich who can afford its dollar-priced facilities for themselves and their loved ones.
At its establishment, many wealthy politicians and businessmen made a beeline for its sales office to book its pricey tracts for their personal burial chambers. Many of them couldn’t wait till they are dead before acquiring the vaults and mausoleums that would hold their remains, they buy ahead.
But at the recent seizure of then cemetery, many of its influential patrons have begun to nurse doubts about their final fate at the expiration of their life. What was supposed to manifest as their status symbol and affirm their membership of Nigeria’s rich upper crust have become a source of great worry and trepidation to them.
Soon after the facility’s seizure by the banks, its fortunes have started to fall apart. Its hitherto well-manicured gardens have become overrun by weeds even as the entire cemetery suffer a lack of care.
The current fate of the Vaults and Gardens, Ikoyi, and its deceased landlords, establish among other things that being rich is not always the answer and that acquiring an expensive grave spot does not assure the rich of peace of mind and high status after their demise.
In death, the once affluent Nigerians who bought and built their burial chambers to taste at the Vault and Gardens, are suddenly caught in a web of bankruptcy and conflict imposed by their landlord’s inability to fulfill certain financial obligations.
If the dead could speak, many of the deceased occupants of the cemetery would condemn in the bitterest terms, the unanticipated infamy trailing their final resting place.
For those who lived and partied like gods, being subjected to such ignominy at their demise, leaves much to be desired. Such a fate is even worse than that of a stillborn child, argued a relative of one of the deceased occupants.
According to her, it is bad enough that the graveyard has been seized via a receivership, but it is even more shameful that the new owners have let the facility fall into a state of disrepair, due to lack of care.
The sad fate of the deceased aristocrats may be likened, she argued, to that of the proverbial child who was birthed in the light of conception, only to expire in the darkness of the womb, never having seen light, or the sun, and its name is never mentioned.
In the end, the deceased rich of Ikoyi’s Vaults and Gardens, experience the same fate as the poor.
