One Man Village: Where the dead are immortalised

According to the village head, Abu Radoro, these stones which stand for the dead loved ones are kept somewhere safe and are picked for all dead relatives. It is the tradition of the community to ‘remember, feed and celebrate these stones in place of the departed.’
He said these dead loved ones represented by the stones are fed and libation poured on them in remembrance of their earthly deeds and also serves as a guide to their heavenly deeds. In some situations goats are slaughtered for the dead depending on the financial strength of the residents.
“We have so many traditional practices that are now extinct due to the advent of religion. We practice some till date since that is what we saw our forefathers practicing,” he noted.
In the village, before any building construction commences in the land as stated by Abu,a cow must be slaughtered at the shrine and the blood used to appease the gods. This is imperative so as to maintain the long standing tradition which will necessitate the completion of the building in peace.
Also according to the village head, the community members have held strongly to this tradition but with the “arrival of modern ways, we have lost touch with most of the aspects of our culture and values.”
A drive through the village will reveal different modern structures at various stages of completion. The community’s entrance is lined with different signboards introducing several estates that have found succour in the community.
The village also known as, ‘Na maiAngwan Abu’ is one out of the many communities in AMAC that have also been cut off from the basic amenities enjoyed in the rural areas despite its proximity to the city centre. According to its leader, the community has been without water for a while. He adds that he singlehandedly assisted with the provision of water so as to ameliorate the plight of the people. He pleaded with the government to come to the aid of the residents by complementing the communal effort with the provision of potable water.
The village head who despite his frail health still retained a friendliness that was effortless also decried the unavailability of electricity in the community. This he added has undermined the development of the community. He called on the authorities to help with the provision of stable electricity supply.
“No clinic here, as you can see. I have been sick for a long time and there is no clinic here to attend to our health needs. We go as far as Gwagwa to access health facilities,” he lamented.
He requested that the government and relevant bodies should assist the community to attain the status of a modern community.
He stated that residents attend schools in distant communities and called on the government to make education accessible to everybody in the community as it has been advocating.
“We are praying that one day all these challenges we face will be a thing of the past and we can stand at par with other communities in the city in terms of social and communal infrastructure,” he noted.