Emeka Oparah: Why does it cost so much to bury the departed?
The cost of dying…!
Do you know the cheapest burial ground in Lagos today is Atan Cemetery, yes that yeye place, where a space is N3m!
Na waa O! Hian! Death is even more expensive than life in these parts. But come to think of it, the average funeral home in the US will charge you at least $6000 to handle your funeral as against bringing the dead body back to Nigeria at $12,000 for the cargo and one accompanying passenger.
So imagine bringing such a ghastly cargo all the way back from the US or the UK (for about #6000-refrigerated casket and all) and still paying about N5m at Victoria Court Cemetery or N4m at Vaults & Gardens!
What of caskets? That one was a shocker. I remember when my father passed away (he didn’t die!!!) in 2003. As soon as the announcement was made, funeral homes in Lagos started calling me to fix appointment to discuss the type of caskets available and the freebies, like ambulances and pall bearers, attached to it. Back then, I think I paid over N400k. Now, the one I like is about N500k. But if I convert to Islam by then, then we will save the cash.
I had reasons to find out these figures while making estimates for my funeral investment plan and these financial statistics were sobering, scary and humbling.
Do you even have a will, to start with? No? Please get one today and save your family hassles when you join your ancestors.
Ok, I was really jiving. Not quite, but I was thinking of life actually. See, I felt a sharp pain in my lower back, most of last week and the one before, each time I coughed or sneezed. I quickly called my personal doctor, who, as always, laughed at me, and then advised I went to the hospital and got an X-ray, if it continued after two days of using some painkillers he recommended. That was last Thursday.
Quite naturally, I complied, and two days afterwards, precisely, I went to St. Nicholas. After the checks, the doctor, who told me she didn’t see anything though, advised upon my insistence I got the X-ray-which was done immediately. I returned on Friday and by then the Radiologist had seen it and the doctor gave me a clean bill of health, recommended a stronger painkiller and asked that I took a break from the irons for a week. I feel much better-and happy too.
You can imagine my relief. And you can also imagine my fear and concern before I went for the X-ray. Provision is better than kiosk, ladies and gentlemen. I meant prevention. It’s better than cure, seriously speaking. And life is better than death, because it costs more to die than to live-as you can glean from the humbling statistics above.
May we not die young in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Oparah leads Airtel Nigeria’s Corporate Communications and CSR. He shared the thoughts above in a Facebook post on March 27, 2017.
