Editor’s note: The Lagos state government has suspended activities of dozens of churches and mosques over noise pollution. According to the authorities, this means the residents now have a deeper understanding of the issue of noise pollution, and the offending religious worship centers have agreed to comply with the recommendations.
Mawuna Koutonin, the Naij.com columnist, looks at how Nigerians talk about the problem of noise pollution from churches and mosques.
Yes is the answer of the majority of Nigerians following the closure of 30 religious places last month in Lagos for excessive noise and disturbance of neighborhood peace and tranquility.
Commenting on the state decisions, Tunji Bello, the Lagos commissioner for environment, said: “We have told religious bodies that enough is enough and we would go all out to enforce our laws. We are giving this warning so that when action is being taken, no one will feel they are being victimised. We all worship God, but some are doing it excessively and I believe it’s unreligious. A religious man should not do such. We have received a lot of cases, and we don’t want to be seen to be working against religious organisations or be shutting down churches and mosques”.
Most of the religious premises were closed without fines but were mandated to sign a memorandum of understanding with the state government stating that they will comply with the laws.
According to the general manager of the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, these 30 religious places were shut down because of thousands of complaints received from Lagos residents who are utmost fed up with the uncontrolled increase of noise pollution in their city.
“When one is exposed to noise level, which is about 150 decibel, for six hours, such person could have deafness,” the general manager said.
“In industrial areas, noise level is meant to be at 90 decibel. In the day and at night it should be 80 decibel. In areas we call mixed (residents and industry), during the day, the noise pollution is expected to be at 65 decibel and at night 55 decibel.
In the last four years, we have been receiving lot of complaints from the residents of Lagos state complaining over the increase in the level of noise pollution in the state especially from religious houses and club houses,” he added
The closure of the 30 religious premises was very much appreciated by Lagosians. They went on to comment the new development on social media and on the national chat room Nairaland. Here is compilation of the most representative comments:
“Disturbing people, stopping them from sleeping is not preaching the gospel. Instead of winning souls you actually achieve the opposite if you don’t care about people’s welfare but use microphone to disturb their peace. Where is Jesus’ saying that you should love your neighbour as yourself or is it love when you don’t allow student to read, and you don’t allow people to sleep peacefully?” a Lagosian asked.
“It’s about time noise pollution is made an offence. Churches and mosques, constituting a nuisance, all in the name of religion,” another commentator wrote.
Another respondent continued: “There are noise standards. This is regulatory. Religious houses of any kind are not above the law. If the noise they generate is above permissible noise levels for a residential area, then they should be warned, and if they desist not they should be shut. God is not deaf that you need to use a microphone before he hears you”.
“I commend the Lagos state government for this. Noise pollution is stealthy but it highly dangerous to one’s health because the long-term effect is psychological disorders. No wonder many people behave erratically in Lagos. You might think the churches are spreading good news but consider this scenario: You worked from Monday till Friday night and you decided to rest on Saturday but you couldn’t because of the three churches around your house, how will you feel?” another queried.
“Yes! Finally. I hope this spreads across the country. How can a group of people just take it upon themselves to disturb public peace? Sometimes you’ll see a tiny church of not more than 15 members with huge loudspeakers mounted outside making noise with their minister screaming at the top of his lungs. I’m a proud Christian, but I think they should be checked,” yet another user commented.
One user said: “In my sister’s neighbourhood in Umuahia there were up to 10 churches, all packed within a yard of each other. The noise and bangs from bands and loudspeakers were deafening. The worst of it all is that the churches were all located next to each other and one could not help but wonder how they hear what the pastors are saying with all the noise bangs and shouts coming from the other churches.
“My sister’s neighbourhood was a sleep Armageddon because sleeping in the night was another story from the noise of night vigils at night. Sundays were more noisy than bombs sounding in the war front and one can’t even discern what exactly they are saying because all the noise, bangs and shouts are mixed up.
“I highly commend the government and hope they do more to tone down such noise pollutions, I am sure we have this thing called ‘noise pollution’.”
“Everyone has the right to worship as they deem fit but one should always consider when your right becomes a problem for other people and a detriment to their own rights. We are all part of the society and each of our actions has effects (positive or negative) on others,” one of the users said.
“I think there should be a law banning the use of megaphones (external loudspeakers) because shutting churches and getting them to pay fine may lead to chaos in the state considering our level of religiosity in Naija. However, I wouldn’t want my fellow Christians to see this as an attack on the church but rather as a way to put our excesses in check as God’s people who are commanded to be moderate and peaceful in all things,” a commentator advised.
“I am a Christian. But this is a welcome development. Christians should be considerate. Churches should be soundproof. My own church is soundproof since it’s at the heart of Wuse 2. Let’s not be sentimental but considerate. This should not be made to look like a persecution on churches. It should extend to club houses and mosques as well. The speakers when Muslims are calling prayer is epic. Mosques make noise five times a day,” another forum contributor added.
“If you lived next to a mosque and are woken up every day at 4/5am by the loud noise from their speakers then you would know it’s something serious. Just the kind of headache alone you get from such is enough health problem. In developed cities, they insulate their walls for noise so whatever they do doesn’t get outside to disturb others. Also mind you, most club houses have their walls noiseproofed, so they hardly disturb anyone living around them. Hope we all start getting things right and stop sentiments,”said a commentator talking about his grudge with mosques.
“Nobody says they should not worship God but the point is the prolonged noise cannot be tolerated. Moderation is necessary in everything we do. Imagine your neighbour putting on a noise-making generator for about 7 hours especially in the night when you are sleeping, can you tolerate that? Another example is comparing someone raising 10 chickens in his backyard with someone raising 500 chickens in the same residential environment: the odor from that of 10 chickens can still be tolerated but not that of 500 chickens,” another user explained.
This life is too short for one to live in perpetual suffering. For those experiencing noise pollution, contact your state environment protection body. If you are resident in Lagos, report through the following avenues:
Phone: calls or SMS
+234-704-635-1295
+234-815-045-8639
+234-815-045-8638
Email: info@lasepa.gov.ng
Online complaint form
Report and live in peace!
We now have clocks. Clocks were invented almost five centuries ago. Churches and mosques don’t need to wake up a whole city at 4am because they need to remind their loyalists to pray or attend their ceremonies. If a person is a real believer, the mosque and church don’t need to blow so loud in the morning to get them up to pray or attend mass.
In a kind note, maybe a Lagos startup should create a small receiver the churches and the mosques would sell or give away to their loyalists, so when it’s time for their call for prayer or mass, those receivers ring only in the homes of those who accept to be disturbed.
Churches and mosques don’t have wake up a whole city because of their religion.
“In most European cities they are not allowed to pollute the peace and quietness of residents, for there are strict noise regulations in place. You never hear any noise from the biggest and most prestigious mosques in central London, the Regent’s Park Mosque. Some of the most exclusive and expensive residences are located in Regent Park, and if they ever try that unnecessary sound at those unholy hours, the residents will see to it that they are shut down. African citizens should also organise and lobby their elected officials, by pointing out to them that these polluting loud noises at the early hours are unhealthy to their precious sleep and well-being. Mosques in Europe are not allowed to use the sirens, they should also be banned from using them in Africa,” concluded a forum user commenting from London.
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Author, Mawuna R. Koutonin
Mawuna Remarque Koutonin is an editor of SiliconAfrica.com and a social activist for Africa Renaissance. Koutonin’s ultimate dream is to open a world-class human potential development school in Africa in 2017. Follow @siliconafrica on Twitter.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the original author. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Naij.com, its editors or other contributors.
Source: naij
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