A Katsina State-based Non-Governmental Organisation, known as Mangal Foundation, has donated materials for the maintenance, repair and sanitation within cemeteries in the state.
The Chairman of the Organising Committee for the distribution of the donation, Alhaji Bala Usman-Deda, distributed the materials on Saturday in Katsina and described the gesture as commendable.
He said that 27 graveyards would benefit from the foundation’s plan to repair and sanitise the cemeteries in different parts of the state.
Usman-Deda, however, said that the foundation was beginning with only eight at the moment.
He listed the benefitting cemeteries as Tsohuwn Danmarna, Sabuwar Danmarna, Dantakun, Abbatoir, Rimin Badawa, Tudun Yallifida, Medical Center and Sabon Gida Cemetery.
He said: “The foundation has assured us that any time we need something related to repairs of the graveyards and other needs there, we should always intimate it.
“With this kind of support, we are hoping that in the future we can also go beyond the graveyards within the town to those outside the metropolis.”
According to him, during the sanitation exercise, which commenced today, the committee will ensure that any grave that needs repair and drains will be attended to by the committee.
Also speaking, the Magajin Garin Katsina, Alhaji Aminu Abdulmumin-Kabir, said in the past years, such exercise was carried out through contribution realised from the public.
Abdulmumin-Kabir, represented by the Wakilin Kudu, Alhaji Abdu Iliyasu, said it was a good development to have a single person handling it.
He commended the gesture and called on other wealthy individuals in the state to emulate it, saying that God would reward them.
In a remark, a Special Adviser to the foundation, Alhaji Lawal Isa-Sullubawa, said they had been engaged in the programme for a long time, “but this is the first time a committee is involved.
“The foundation, which was initiated for the support and development of people, did not leave behind those lying in the graves, especially during the rainy season,” Isa-Sullubawa said.
He said that all that was needed in those graveyards will be provided in order to keep them tidy and clean.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that some of the materials donated included herbicide spraying pumps and chemicals, wheelbarrows and rainboots, among others.