It is an unanimous fact that veteran actress, Bukky Ajayi, lived a good life. She was inspirational, talented, successful and loved by all who knew her.
However, not a few people kicked against the choice of her final resting place- Atan Cemetery . Some industry stakeholders and her fans on social media, expressed their displeasure at the site of her burial saying she deserved better.
To many, the late Bukky Ajayi who had given her all to the world of theatre and made many lives beautiful with her talent deserved a befitting and respectful final resting place, not an almost dilapidated cemetery.
Femi Salawu, an entertainment journalist, in a post on Facebook that generated numerous reactions said he was saddened that Bukky Ajayi was interred at Atan Cemetery.
"If it is true that late veteran actress, Bukky Ajayi was buried at Atan Cemetery, Yaba, then I feel very sad about it," he wrote.
Head of Jury, AMAA Awards, Shaibu Hussein, however disagreed with Femi. According to him, the most important thing is the salvation of soul of the dead and not the burial site. "How do you mean? Does it matter where the dead is buried? What should matter is the salvation of her soul sir. Let's not sensationalise matters like this abeg," he queried.
Veteran actor and one of those who represented the industry at the late thespian's house, Patrick Doyle, introduced another dimension to the debate when he shared a recent personal experience. In a post he titled, The state of Atan Cemetery, he wrote: "Today, I had the unwholesome task of overseeing the funeral of my niece. Grace Alovor was my late cousin, Afi's only child. I am just three years older than her and we related more like brother and younger sister. The funeral took place at Atan Cemetery in Yaba. The state of that cemetery is to say the least appalling.
"I was responsible for securing the burial plot, so I had to visit the cemetery several times before the funeral. Each time I went there, I had to cringe at the utter state of desolation it was in. Old vaults bore the scars of grave robbery, either the bodies were dislodged to steal the caskets or for body snatchers to harvest body parts for rituals. The weeds were also massively overgrown with the obvious possibility of being infested with vermin and serpents.
"It would appear that our disdain for the value of human life also extends to the death of humans also. To think that the Yaba Local Government actually charges as much as N100, 000 for a burial plot at Atan but will not bother with landscaping the place. I guess I'm asking for too much to expect that the local government will even consider a word I have said, let's just say I want to be on record as having pointed out this anomaly."
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