Chief Rommy Ezeonwuka, the Chairman of Ogilisi Igbo Foundation, an Igbo sociocultural group, says the preservation of dead bodies is unchristian and alien to the culture of Igbo people.
Ezeonwuka, who made the call in Awka on Thursday while speaking with journalists, said the people should stop what he called the celebration of dead bodies in Igbo land.
He called on governors of Southeast states to take measures towards decongesting mortuaries in their various states.
He said the preservation of dead bodies had led to congestion of both public and private morgues in Igbo land.
Ezeonwuka said as the people prepared for Easter, they should reflect on the Bible story of death and burial of Jesus Christ and imbibe the attitude of timely burial of the dead to allow them continue their eternal journeys.
He said people could defer the funeral ceremony if they wished but interment should be as soon as the deceased died.
According to him, preserving dead bodies is not our culture in Igbo land, it is alien to us.
“In the past when somebody died, they are buried within 24 hours; members of the family can stay with it for their relatives like father, son or inlaws in case of a woman to come and sight it and they must bury the corpse before noon.
“There were no mortuary business then but now families allow their dead to lie like wood in the morgue for over a year. What is the joy in holding corpses hostage when their spirit is gone?
“Check the Bible, when Jesus Christ died, Joseph of Aramathia pleaded that he should be given the body to bury and that was how He continued his journey and returned on the third day.
“So, I am calling on governors in Southeast to come up with a programme for evaluation of mortuaries in Igbo land within six months.
“They should announce that families should identify the bodies of their loved ones and take them for burial, those that are not identified should be given mass burial under relevant laws,” he said
Ezeonwuka, who went spiritual, said freeing Igbo land from the large number of unburied corpses was capable of reducing the rate of crime, moral decay and declining values.
According to him, Angels are clean spirits, they don’t have business with unclean things, the Bible described corpses as unclean, see (Numbers 19:11), so you can not expect progress where people fondle corpses.
