4th June, 2014
By Sola Ogunmosunle
It is disheartening to note that in every area of decent living, Nigeria has always ranked woefully. It is, therefore, not an astounding news when recently, experts also declared Nigeria as the noisiest country in the world! It is that bad that we do not need to wait for experts to observe that the level of noise pollution, especially in our cities and particularly Lagos, is a scary development.
Even though noise pollution is not limited to Nigeria, it is a phenomenon usually common to many developing nations and even some developed countries. As a matter of fact, Madrid, the capital city of Spain and New York City in the United States are also some of the noisiest cities in the world. It is, however, worrisome that despite experts’ caution on the dangers of uncontrolled noise pollution on the well-being of the people and the environment, we have continued to carry on unperturbed.
Noise pollution is displeasing or excessive noise that may disrupt the activity or balance of human or animal life. It is a form and level of environmental sound that is generally considered likely to annoy, distract or even harm other people. High noise levels can contribute to cardiovascular effects in humans, a rise in blood pressure, and an increase in stress and vasoconstriction, and an increased incidence of coronary artery disease. Perhaps, this is one of the reasons for the high incidence of hypertension in Nigeria.
The high level of noise pollution has become a major source of health concern in Nigeria as The Nigeria Hearing and Speech Association (NIHSA) has raised the alarm on the increasing hearing challenges being faced by many Nigerians as a result of noise pollution. According to the National President of NIHSA, Professor Julius Ademokoya, the number of patients with ear and hearing-related problems seen in some health facilities is about 10 weekly. According to him, people are not expected to expose their hearing to the sound level of 80 decibels as the part of the ear that picks up sound is called Coplair and it is a combination of cells and very sensitive to noise. So, the more the Coplair is exposed to a high degree of noise, the more the danger of becoming deaf or having hear impairment. Gradual hear loss is high in Nigeria due to its position as the loudest noise producer in the world. It is worrisome to observe that noisemaking has become a socio-cultural problem among our people. It has become a way of life in many of our communities. We party at the least cause for celebration. For a naming ceremony, streets are closed while music blares at its loudest and may extend late into the night.
In Nigeria, Lagos, being a littoral state, with a population in excess of 20 million people and great intense economic and social activities, naturally faces the greatest challenge of possible environmental abuse and degradation, particularly that of noise pollution. In Lagos, the major sources of noise pollution include motor parks, worship centres and roadside music centres. Indeed, it is common knowledge that most worship centres in the state are located in residential areas and the noise generated from these places often become a major source of pain to most residents who find it hard to sleep at night because of the noise emanating from most of these centres. Some of the worship centres make the loudest noise even in the dead of the night! Ironically, the owners of the erring worship centres are so unruly that they sometimes even have the effrontery to engage the authorities and the communities in running battles.
Our comatose power sector also plays a big role in the high level of noise pollution in Lagos. Because of the constant failure of electricity supply in the country, almost every household has its own power generating sets, especially the noisy portable type, popularly called ‘I better pass my neighbour’. It is unimaginable the level of noise these generators produce. Every barber, hairdresser, welder, tailor, grinding machine operators, etc., now rely on generators to do their business. Similarly, the state experiences disturbing noises from roadside music vendors who, in a bid to attract prospective buyers’ attention, often blare the sound of the music they advertise to a very ridiculous level. Also, the high vehicular traffic in Lagos coupled with bad driving habits of many drivers encourage a high level of honking from motorists. The commuter bus drivers are particularly notorious for unnecessary honking that is displeasing to the ears.
The Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, (LASEPA) is the regulatory authority on environmental pollution in Lagos and the agency’s position on the permissible level of noise pollution is clear. This has been communicated to all stakeholders in the state. LASEPA limited the level of noise allowed in the state to 55 decibel during the day and at night between 42 and 45 decibel. In order to ensure compliance with this position, the agency has been organizing stakeholders’ meetings in which it communicated the position of the state government to them as well as rub minds together on how to guarantee strict conformity with the noise level requirement in the state.
Despite the fact that there has been a clampdown on erring bodies particularly the worship centres by LASEPA in recent times, there is yet to be an appreciative abatement level in noisemaking in the state. There is an elevated level of ignorance amongst the populace on the danger of constant exposure to high level noise. Many people are unaware of the health risk posed by noise pollution and so they do not find any reason to report noisemakers. Even those that are aware of the dangers are very lackadaisical when it comes to reporting noise pollution. Everybody just seems to be too busy ‘minding their business.’ Due to our sentiments and attitude to issues bordering on religion, many of our people are also usually reluctant to report perpetrators that share the same faith with them.
In order to attain a desirable environment that is devoid of noise pollution, the government must, therefore, begin an aggressive public enlightenment campaign to sensitize the populace on the dangers of noise pollution. Our people must put religious sentiments aside and embrace a noiseless environment that sustains their well-being. The government may also need to review the present report system that is centralized at LASEPA’s office in Alausa Secretariat. It is imperative that local offices of LASEPA be created to make reports easier. Because of the sheer size of the Lagos population that is in excess of twenty million people, the government can explore the possibility of involving the Environment Departments of the Local Council Areas in the report and enforcement of noise pollution offences. The Federal Government must also fix the power sector to reduce the noise -making from power generating sets, This sector is critical to the socio-economic development of the country as almost all the other sectors depend or thrive on efficient power supply.
•Ogunmosunle is of the Features Unit, Ministry of Information, Alausa, Ikeja.