it is bad enough that Lagosians literally go to hell and return in trying to commute from one point to another, given the traffic snarl they grind through daily. Yet it is worse that even at night they are unable to get good hours of sleep owing to the growing amount of noise in the neighbourhood. Such noise is either coming from the many generating sets when there is power outage, as is often the case, or from the many churches and mosques whose loudspeakers blare the highest decibels to the neighbourhood. Against the background that some of the health issues associated with noise pollution include cardiovascular challenges like blood pressure levels and stress- related diseases, sleeping disorders, fatigue as well as hearing problems, we believe the Lagos State government is correct in its decision to take action against those causing noise pollution in the state.
We understand that residents, fatigued by the hazardous effect of the unrelenting noise, have had to cry out via petitions to Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), which prompted the sealing up of the religious homes and hotels. While the 53 churches and mosques are accused of gross noise pollution, the hotels failed to submit their Environmental Impact Assessment reports. The head of the agency, Mr Rasheed Shabi, had rightly observed that most of the religious homes which blare offensive noise at night are makeshift places of worship. According to Shabi, “nobody is allowed to make noise above 55 decibel during the day in the residential area and only 45 decibel is allowed in such area at night. In the industrial areas, 90 decibel of noise is allowed during the day while the noise rate must not exceed 80 decibel at night in such areas.”
Indeed, the avalanche of unchecked establishment of churches and mosques in residential neighbourhoods is a tell-tale sign of the subversion of law and order in our society. In properly planned estates and neighbourhoods, worship centres are usually designated away from residential areas in such a way that the noise generated from such centres can hardly be a source of nuisance. With many generators sounding like cassava engines or as if they have no exhaust pipes, residential neighbourhoods literally go up in a babel of clashing noise decibels whenever there is power outage. In such neighbourhoods, nightfall and sleeping become nightmarish. Yet apart from the loud noise that generating plants from hotels produce, the heavy fumes from their exhausts also pollute the environment in no small measure. However, beyond the publicity blitz the agency garnered in sealing up the said facilities, it also has a duty to mount a standing surveillance to ensure that the sealed outfits are not surreptitiously re-opened for “business”. We say this because in 2014, the same LASEPA had sealed 24 religious outfits for breaching the environmental laws of the state. It is not impossible that some of those sealed last year are among the 53 sealed last month.
Indeed, the avalanche of unchecked establishment of churches and mosques in residential neighbourhoods is a tell-tale sign of the subversion of law and order in our society. In properly planned estates and neighbourhoods, worship centres are usually designated away from residential areas in such a way that the noise generated from such centres can hardly be a source of nuisance. With many generators sounding like cassava engines or as if they have no exhaust pipes, residential neighbourhoods literally go up in a babel of clashing noise decibels whenever there is power outage. In such neighbourhoods, nightfall and sleeping become nightmarish. Yet apart from the loud noise that generating plants from hotels produce, the heavy fumes from their exhausts also pollute the environment in no small measure. However, beyond the publicity blitz the agency garnered in sealing up the said facilities, it also has a duty to mount a standing surveillance to ensure that the sealed outfits are not surreptitiously re-opened for “business”. We say this because in 2014, the same LASEPA had sealed 24 religious outfits for breaching the environmental laws of the state. It is not impossible that some of those sealed last year are among the 53 sealed last month.
While we support the establishment of religious or worship centres, we believe that they must do so within the ambit of the law. The indiscriminate siting of such centres even in residential neighbourhoods is a clear affront on the rights of the residents who have to suffer the effect of the noise they produce. Not only do such noises have dangerous impact on the health of the victims, they rob the people of their secular right, as they are inadvertently drawn into such worship sessions because loudspeakers are virtually affixed to homes. Therefore, we urge LASEPA to widen its dragnet of surveillance across the length and breadth of the state in such a manner that noise pollution in whatever form or by which institution is contained, if only for the health of the people
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