EVALUATING THE MANAGEMENT OF CEMETERY REAL ESTATE IN NIGERIA (A CASE STUDY OF MUSLIM BURIAL GROUND, OFFA, KWARA STATE)

Cemetery or memorial park is a respectful place and can be used as a tourist destination, cemetery is also an area of ground set aside for the burying of human bodies, challenges that the managerial sector of cemetery do faced is lack of sand to filling the land of cemetery. Different religions and cultures view cemeteries differently. As a societal level, Muslims only visit their relative’s graves on certain annual celebrations, whereas individual Muslims will visit the graves all year round. The problem happening in the study area as regard cemetery management includes inadequate sands to filling the land of cemetery, inadequate chemical to remove grass of the cemeteries, issue of communication between the deceased family and the management of the cemetery in Offa Kwara State Nigeria. The study evaluated the management of cemetery real estate in Offa, Kwara state. Using survey research design, primary data were collected through the administration of structured questionnaires on four (4) Estate Surveyors and Valuer, twenty (20) residents and four (4) ITIHAD members in Offa, Kwara State, Nigeria. The respondents were asked to rate the identified existing uses available in Muslim burial ground, management strategies/management approach adopted in the management of the cemetery real estate and challenges in the management of cemetery real estate in the study area on a 5-point Likert scale. The elicited data were analysed using Relative Importance Index (RII). The result revealed the various uses available in Muslim Burial Ground Offa, Kwara State to includes; general research section with ranking of 1.6871, fence and fortification with ranking of 1.6714 which ranked 2nd and burial and interment site for the dead which ranked 3rd 1.5857. It was revealed that the strategies/approach adopted in the management of muslim burial ground in the study area found to include planning control and zoning with ranking order of 1.9071, 1.9000 and 1.8900. It revealed the challenges in the management of cemetery real estate in the study area to includes; financial sustainability, electricity problem and shortage of land for cemeteries with ranking order of 1.8000, 1.7933 and 1.7932. The following recommendations were made that constant supply of amenities like electricity and water be provided in the study area to improve on the management of the case study. The project also recommends that sustainable planning, design, and landscaping must be employed. That the security standard of cemeteries should be improved by providing adequate security needs and more space should be provided through acquisition of more land for cemeteries. Provision of twenty four hours security such as CCTV camera, security personnel for morning, noon and night is highly needed. The community should also provide adequate facilities such as light, water, and by keeping important items. Government should provide support to the committee that are in charge of the burial ground to enable more inclusive managementt. That all the rich Muslims both home and abroad should contribute to the welfare of the Offa muslim burial ground.