Noise pollution: When a disorder becomes the norm

That noise is hazardous to human health is an understatement. More so, it is an enemy of the environment.

An investigation has revealed that noise pollution in Nigeria is mainly generated from religious houses, record stores and bars. The most modern entrant to the noise scourge in the country is product promotions by companies, blaring music on the streets with the strength of Nigerians – our youths – some of them graduates, dancing in the hot sun to earn peanuts per hour.

Sometimes, one begins to wonder if the God Nigerians worship is different from the God civilised countries worship that makes religious houses blare their sessions through high powered amplifiers. The noise range generated therefrom is measured to stretch for hundreds of metres long.

It is instructive to note that we worship God at the top of our voices while developed countries worship their God quietly in peace and serenity.

The Daily Times recalls that the Lagos State government had in 2015 announced the sealing off of about 53 churches, mosques, and hotels across the state and also 70 churches, 20 mosques and about 11 hotels in 2016 by the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) as a result of noise pollution.

But findings by the newspaper revealed that the 2015 and 2016 action by LASEPA has not resulted in curbing the noise generated by religious houses in Lagos State.

Speaking with The Daily Times on Friday, a cleric and also an Arabic teacher in a public school in Lagos, Mr. Kamorudeen Onituwo, disclosed that the incessant noise pollution generated from the religious houses, hotels, bars, disc jockey stalls and many others can be drastically reduced if strict policies are imposed on them coupled with effective execution by the government.

“Mega phones should be mainly used for call to prayers, delivering of sermons because some individuals can be easily influenced by the word of God and also special days while other activities like announcement, thanksgiving and many others should be done silently within the mosque premises to ensure a peace of mind,” he told The Daily Times.

Onituwo further stated that the idea of night prayers popularly known in Islam as Taajud that usually lasts till the second day should be corrected by the Islamic stakeholders, adding that it can be done silently without megaphones or better still to be stopped at 12am.

Pastor Michael Abiola, while speaking with our correspondent, said the uncontrolled noise from the churches can be attributed to the overpopulated makeshift churches across the states.

He stated that some Nigerian pastor rent apartments, shops, and also space for canopies as a church in local residential areas, adding that the sealing off of religious houses in 2015 and 2016 in Lagos followed series of complaints from residents who were fed up with the uncontrolled increase of noise pollution from them.

He said: “Makeshift churches execute more than four programmes in a week including night vigils and also strive hard in securing foreign loud speakers that could take care of 150 audience or more for just 20 to 30 audience, yet the minister stills shout on top of their voices”.

He further stated that individuals have turned religious act as an avenue of exploiting people and also a means of camouflage to cover their bad and hidden handworks and urged religious authorities to serve as a watchdog for them.

At a rendezvous with a pastor in Lagos, who spoke on condition of anonymity, he revealed that more than average Nigerian pastors are controlled by their egos and belief.

He stated that pastors who anchor programme on air still shout on top of their voices just to gain attention of the listeners.

According to the pastor, Nigerian Christians believe if a pastor is shouting on top of his/her voices and jumping at the altar that is when their prayers can be answered.

He said: “My fellow Christians, religion is a practice that has protocols and requires proper way of execution that should be able to influence and change the mind of people, thus it should be exercised wisely in peace and serenity”.

He further stated that the idea of using loud speakers for night vigils is a source of noise pollution considering the stress people faces during week days in their various work places and still suffer another disturbance from their megaphones at nights, adding that it can be controlled if the religious houses abide by laid down rules.

In a chat with a government school mathematics teacher in Lagos, Mr. Ifeanu Agboola, he said disc jockey stalls and street dancing from companies organising promotions has done more harm to the students, precisely the public school students.

He said public schools situated at the local areas are sometimes disturbed by the loud noise generated from them.

“Students who are expected to go home after school activities and be of help to their parents or engaged themselves in acquiring a skill in a profession branch at the roadsides to participate by dancing, clapping, shouting if the need be,” he told The Daily Times.

According to him, this act has recorded a lot of accidents and kidnap of students in the recent years.

He concluded that the government should act fast, adding that if little or no attention is paid to the control of noise pollution in the country, the more risk the people will face.

According to Mrs. Oluchi Ifeanyi, a business woman in Lagos, while speaking with our correspondent, Nigeria cannot continue to exist as a country where everything goes.

She said religious houses, clubs, hotels, bars and many others must be made to abide by the rule of the land.
She further stated that disc jockey stalls situated at popular garages in the local areas have indirectly contributed to the ills in the society.

“Commercial bus drivers at the garages dance to the Fuji or hip hop songs played to their ears and sometimes coupled it with drinking of alcohol and smoking which makes them misbehave on the highways,” she said.

Mrs. Ifeanyi also disclosed that politicians and elite in the society prefer to build hotels rather than schools, event centres, and many others because of the fast income generated from such at the end of the week.

She then urged the government to help in building event centres at affordable prices to reduce the performing of naming ceremonies, birthday parties and other events on the streets.

Role of Lagos State Government
In a chat with Mrs. A Olaitan, a scientific officer in the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), she said it is wrong for people to believe the agency is not functioning as it used to be in previous years.

She said: “We act according to the complaints we receive from people. We also have five different zones which are zone A to zone E that are in-charge of every geographical locations and also different zonal offices situated at Agege, Ikorodu and Amuwo-Odofin.

“Also, we have spies that are present at the scene to confirm, gather necessary information to ensure a clear picture of complains we receive”.

According to her, when complaints are received concerning makeshift religious houses situated at residential areas, they are given ultimatum of seven days or a month to relocate while hotels, bars, and many others are given directives on how to minimise their noise.

She further disclosed that hotels, bars, and many others who refuse to abide to the directives are given pre-sanction before ultimatum if they still refuse to abide to the directive.

She concluded that there are stipulated fines that are charged based on how grievous their offences are and urged the public to call the agency for any complaint.

Meanwhile, experts said other issues resulting from noise pollution includes hypertension, social disorder, psychological and psychiatric disorder and many others. They regretted that Nigerians are too economically harassed to care, but called for a change of attitude.

Babalola Mujeeb