Kazeem Ugbodaga
Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola said he bought a vault where he will be buried four years ago even as he said his administration is about to build two new cemeteries in the state.
Fashola said every human being must plan for his exit, since death is inevitable, saying that most people did not always prepare for their burying place.
The governor spoke after inspecting the proposed Cemetery for both Muslims and Christians in the state, located along Lekki Epe Expressway, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria.
He lamented that most people could not access some of the old cemeteries where their loved ones were buried several years ago, adding that people must plan for their demise they way they plan for success while alive.
“We are going to deliver a cemetery like no other, there will also be competitive really. We will manage it and make the cost competitive which is what you hear him discussing. There will be high density vault, there will be medium density vault and low density vault for really want to make a statement at their exit.
“It is a truism of life everyone who come must go. So as we are building hospitals to receive new born babies, schools to teach them survival skills in life and starting businesses, We must also plan for the end and this may sound as what people don’t want to discuss, I have bought my own vault. It surprises people I paid for it about four years ago. I always tell people if you come here to live, you must plan to go. Those who don’t want to go shouldn’t come,” he stated.
On the Lagos Court of Arbitration building on Lagos Island, Fashola said that the compelling need to resolve trade disputes locally rather than travelling to London and Paris informed the siting of the centre in the state.
“This is the place for dispute resolution. It is the Lagos Arbitration centre. We could save a lot of money and create employment through this court. We lose a lot of fund to other countries in terms of arbitration. When dispute arises in the country, the preferred place is Paris, France or London, United Kingdom. And there is nothing special there.
“All we need is to create a centre that will have the necessary reputation. We have the personnel because some of the best arbitrators in the continent are Nigerians. We also have the economic for the arbitration because a lot of construction, developmental and Public Private Partnership, ( PPP) projects are ongoing. And dispute from there could be resolved here,” he added.
Fashola said the court would also create jobs for many residents, stating that through the initiative the state government has created a local destination for the sub-region as the court would be the destination for arbitration for West Africa.
“We already have the international recognition for this. All that is left is to complete the project. We have received some arbitration funds also. And the next three weeks, the building will be ready for commissioning. We have at least 11 rooms here,” he said.