The Cemetery

LAWRENCE C. ONUKWUBA

Growing up, I had always had a grave fear for the cemetery. I saw it as a haunted place where one dares not near if one values his/her life. The numerous Willie willie stories we heard as kids about spirits visiting the living did not actually help matters at all. Well, all that changed for me recently. 

It happened that during lunch break few days back, a colleague of mine invited me to join him for a stroll to a nearby restaurant to grab ourselves something for lunch. He suggested we go through a nearby neighbourhood cemetery so as to make the journey shorter. It took me time to process his suggestion. Through a cemetery kwa?  Why on earth would we do that? Sensing my surprise, he assured me that it was okay, as that had always been his normal route to the restaurant whenever he needed to meditate, as the cemetery environment was always peaceful and isolated. In order not to make my reservation too obvious, I reluctantly conceded.

The ten minutes walk through the cemetery now turned out to be one of the most peaceful one I had had in recent times. The peace and tranquility surrounding the cemetery environment was almost therapeutic. I reflected on those occupying those graves as we walked, how they were once living, but now lying stone dead in those graves. I saw a grave that had both spouses buried in it, the ones occupied by the very young, the elderly and those that were cut short in their prime. Honestly I was overwhelmed with this feeling that life is really transient. That it’s just a matter of time and everyone will end up in one sort of cemetery. Well, the fact that this particular cemetery was well maintained actually made the experience more peaceful. By the time the walk through was over, I found myself wishing for more visits.

I honestly feel that we the living should always make out time to visit the cemetery to reflect about death. All the struggles of this life, the wealth grabbing, the material and academic pursuits, the bravado, everything ends one day. One day we would completely leave everything behind and go with nothing. The Bible made it clear that the only thing that would count for us would be the good deeds we did while we were alive as there would be no repentance in the grave. Really the preacher man said it all, that vanity upon vanity, all is vanity. Such visits to the cemetery will help bring these facts closer home. But if you decide to visit there at night, ehm ehm ehm, you are strictly on your own ooo. Hehehehe!

You know, as I was writing this piece ehh, a mind kept telling me “hmmmmm Lawrence, this one you are writing about the dead, ehm ehm  if anything should happen to you now, people will say that you ehm ehm had the premonition… My people liver nearly cut me ooo. Hehehehehehehehe. Well, me I know that am not going anywhere yet. Mbanu not yet, not until ehm ehm Chineke God completes His design for me. It’s only when it pleases Him that He will ehm ehm ehm …… Chai it’s like I have forgotten what I wanted to write.. Hehehehehehe. 

As we approach November which is the month for the dead, I dedicate this to all our departed loved ones. I pray God to grant their souls eternal repose till we all meet to part no more!

– Lawrence Onukwuba, a Legal Practitioner, writes from Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.