By Cajetan Mmuta
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has ordered all Igbo sons and daughters to start burying their dead relations within three days, as was done in ancient times.
The group noted that, having ‘gone deep in spiritual things’, it had come to the conclusion that keeping the dead in the morgue for so long has been contributing to the problems of the people.
IPOB spokesman, Emma Powerful, in a statement to newsmen yesterday in Awka, the Anambra State capital, said,”Our ancestors were burying their dead ones within three days, and that is our culture, and it helped our ancestors spiritually.”
He said that, “After some thorough investigation, we have come to the realisation that all the reasons given by our people which cause the unnecessary delay in burying our dead within a short period are neither cogent nor important enough.”
The group added that it was announcing to all Biafrans, friends of Biafra, and lovers of Biafra’s freedom, that it was high time Biafrans start burying their dead within three days, as it was in ancient times.
The statement affirmed, “IPOB has gone too deep in the spiritual, and finds out that keeping our dead ones for so long is contributing to the major problems of Ndigbo in this present times.”
Powerful pointed out that, “Igbos have a very rich and spiritually-based culture which our ancestors maintained from the beginning of time. The present habit of keeping dead bodies more than three days, and even months and years in the mortuary, have had dire effects on our land and contributed to the spiritual weakness of Igbo nation, and of the entire Biafraland. Moral decadence and all manner of evil have taken root in our land.
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“Now that IPOB has come to realise that this alien practice of keeping the dead on land, rather than committed to mother earth, has had a very negative impact on our people and upon our land. It has become very imperative to urge our people to revert to the old practices that positively affect imperative to urge our people to revert to the old practices that have very positive effects upon our wellbeing both spiritually and otherwise.
IPoB added, “These reasons are all man-made mostly monetary conditions from the bereaved families, traditional rites, churches and Umunna. Some of these reasons were self-imposed, while others are just to punish the dead families and make money from the dead.
“We, therefore, beg our people, religious leaders, traditional rulers, and mostly the Umunna, both men and women, to stop tasking bereaved families as a condition before they are allowed to commit their departed loved one to mother earth.
“Some of our people have turned burial into a carnival, asking families to pay levies or debt for their dead ones. It is an abomination and must be stopped forthwith.”
“As it was in the past, bereaved families should be allowed to commit their dead ones to mother earth, while a date for the burial ceremony is fixed for a later date, as well as whatever levies that need to be collected.
“But using reasons for non-payment of burial levies to stockpile dead bodies in the mortuaries is what IPOB doesn’t want again in our territory. Our people should revert to our old healthy tradition of burying the dead and do the needful at specific times within their reach.”
