Mr Abdulganiyu Faari, Chairman of Lagos Mainland Muslim Community has expressed the need to have Muslim cemeteries in various locations in Lagos.
Faari expressed this view in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos.
“We discovered that cemeteries provided by both the State and Local Governments do not cater well for Muslim corpses.
“You know that we Muslims have a way of treating our dead, and we need to have cemeteries where the appropriate spiritual steps would be taken on them,’’ he said.
“Such cemeteries will be available to muslins from all over the country and the project will be extended to other parts of Lagos.
He said that difficulties in getting land in Lagos prompted the community to obtain 11 acres of land at a suburb of Ogun state, near Lagos, for the cemetery project.
“It will be for Muslims from all over the country and even from outside, so long as it is a Muslim corpse.
“We liaised with the Lagos state government for land allocation but they were not forthcoming.
“We had to move to Mowe, a suburb of Ogun state, on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, where we got 11 acres of land for the project.
“The plan is to get another 11 acres in places like Badagry, Epe and Ikorodu axis, so that Muslim cemeteries can become readily available in Lagos,’’ he said.
Faari thanked Alhaji Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group of Companies, for his support for the Muslim cemetery project.
“Dangote has been very helpful. He has awarded a contract to erect a staff quarters and some modern facilities in the Mowe project and we really appreciate him for that,’’ he added.
