This morgue attendant
found N75,000 on an ADC crash victim and returned it
By Jossy Idam (jidam 14@yahoo.com)
Saturday,
December 16, 2006
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•Solomon
Taru
Photo By Sun News Publishing |
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His name is Solomon Taru. He is one of the morgue attendants
in Maitama District Hospital, Maitama, Abuja. He was on duty
when some of the corpses of the ADC crash victims were brought
to his hospital. He found N75,500 on one of the victims, and
another undisclosed amount with two handsets on another victim.
He thought it wise to return the money to the relations of
the victim. And when asked, ‘why?’ his answer
was simple: “ any thing concerning dead body, we don’t
keep.”
Solomon’s story paints a picture of an honest hardworking
Nigerian, who, despite the fact of getting miserly wages for
taking care of the dead, won’t rob the dead to make
a living. His story:
How long have you been working here?
I started working here since 2002. I’m a mortuary attendant.
We normally collect corpse from outside, after collecting,
we put it inside fridge. If the relations want us to preserve
the corpse, that is do embalmment, we normally do it, on the
day of collection, if they want us to bath the corpse and
dress it for them, then we do that.
How did you find the money?
My chairman and I were searching some pockets to know whether
we’ll get some identity [for the corpse] then, we found
that money, which was N75,500.00. So he now told me that I
should give it to our compound matron. So that she will put
it on record. And that If the owner comes they will give him
the money. So, luckily, somebody came and identified the corpse,
so they interviewed him and they know it was his corpse, they
now handed over the money to him.
Apart from that one, there was one again. I found some money
although that one was in two hundred denomination. I didn’t
count it. I just keep it in bulk with two handsets.
The relations came, identified their corpse, I still gave
them that one. They didn’t count the money, too because
they said they didn’t want to count it, they just signed
that they’ve collected some money and two handsets.
Why didn’t you keep the money?
Right from the time we started this work, any thing concerning
dead body, we don’t keep. Even now, it’s not long
that we started checking pockets. Because when we are in Asokoro,
when we do preservation like this, blood will stain the trouser.
So we just pull it and throw it away. When we ask environmental
people that normally come and pack dust bin, to come and empty,
they normally find money and dollars.
From there, anything we see, we remove and keep for the relations.
When they come, we give them. If you enter, you can even see
some N20, N40, N50 notes. When we give some people the money,
they will not collect, and we leave them there.
Sometimes we spend part of the money to buy Omo, if we have
a general work to do.
We don’t take things from dead bodies. It’s just
like that. Not that there’s problem, or anything. Whatever
we find on a dead body we don’t take unless we don’t
check. It’s not every time that we normally search.
If the corpse hadn’t been claimed, what happens
to the money?
It will be for the hospital because already they have collected
the money from me. It is up to the hospital what to do with
such money.
The relations gave you N1,000 for keeping N75,500,
don’t you feel that is little?
I don’t too much care because whatever you offer me,
I will just tell my God, ‘Thank you.’ Sometimes
you’ll be thinking that you’ll get a huge amount,
but little will come your way.
And I can’t reject it, since it is not something that
we arranged that if I find this amount this is my share. It’s
something about dead bodies. You have to still pity the person
they lost. So it is his own mind to give you what he feels.
Do you have any nightmares considering the kind of
job you do?
Sometime, be after work you go and sleep you dream about a
corpse you’ve already worked on. Even though I dream
I don’t care about it, not the one that will remain
in my mind and will make me afraid.
There’s a certain time, they brought one corpse here,
I removed him but I didn’t put him inside the fridge
because there was no space and he had cotton wool in his mouth,
and his nose. In my dream, I saw the man; he got up by. But
when I woke up in the morning, I entered, he was still there.
Are you going to be a morgue attendant for life?
Well, I didn’t plan to be a mortuary attendant in life.
It is lack of Job. Not that I’m regretting the work.
Because I applied for this job, almost one year after, unexpectedly,
I got the appointment letter. I was even surprised. So I thank
God. There’re some that applied they didn’t employ
them. So I say let me start. It’s a good job for you
to experience things about life but the only thing and the
way people are saying because if you are here you will be
seeing different types of people.
I remember a certain time there was a man that came from Israel.
I treated his corpse. The man sat down with me and said since
I have mind to do this work, why am I staying here in this
country?
He now asked me what I read about the work. My qualifications.
I told him I have none. I explained to him, I don’t
know anything about the work he now advised me that I should
go to school of health get some knowledge about it, so that
I will get some documents, then he’ll work way for me
to go outside the country.
Because outside, it is money. They pay huge amount. But I
don’t know why they don’t pay much in this country.
They pay us the same salary with all these cleaners you see
in the hospital. Consider the odour of smelling corpses and
chemicals and we are receiving the same salary. And it’s
not something you’ll say you’ll withdraw today.
Before you leave one work, you have to make sure one is available.
Are you doing anything to get a certificate as you
were advised?
I’m working and schooling. I am a student of Mopolo
Polytechnic in Kubuwa. Public Admin. (Why Public Admin?) I
just say let me just read it since I normally get chance weekends.
It’s not something I will say, I will do full time because
we are not many here. At least let me just be managing with
weekend programme at least to get a certificate.
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