Today's topic is an interesting one because I live in Lagos, and if everyone on this platform were Lagosians, I'd have probably ended with that first sentence.
Noise is an integral part of Lagos. Nobody knows why, but everybody always feel the need to shout all the time.
Be it with your voice, with the horn of an epileptic 2007 Honda Accord, or that of a diabetic "I-beta-pass-my-neighbor" Tiger generator that should've been thrown into the river 13 years ago.
No matter the medium being used, the main priority is for sufficient noise to be made.
Thankfully, the government has implemented quite a number of laws to combat against noise pollution, but we're yet to see the effect of those laws.
I currently shuffle between three different states (Oyo, Ogun, and Lagos). I live in Lagos, school in Ogun, and work in Oyo.
The place where I stay in Oyo is peaceful and serene. Even though I like telling my friends otherwise, a part of me enjoys being here. My experience in the other two states (Ogun and Lagos) is, unfortunately, quite different thanks to noise pollution.
My house in Lagos is flanked on both sides by two noisy churches. I really do not understand the reason behind having two different churches in one place, but I honestly do not care, and I would've maintained that attitude except that these churches disturb me with their incoherent sounds with every chance they get.
Nigeria is a religious society and people respect religious institutions. So whenever these institutions make noise all in the name of praising God, people tend to look the other way so as not to be termed an heretic. Not minding that, I have gone to meet the Pastors of these churches on several occasions regarding the noise, but they'd only reduce it for a while and increase it later on. I am tired of all the back and forth, and I've decided that the next time I'm in Lagos, I'll find time to report these churches to the office of the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA). I believe involving the government might bring a lasting solution to the noise pollution they're causing.
I know many people will criticize the move, but I don't really care. I just want peace of mind.
In Abeokuta, Ogun State, the hostel I live in is directly opposite a mosque equipped with a vicious-sounding megaphone speaker. Even thinking about it now is traumatizing. 😅
In line with Islamic customs, people gather in the mosque everyday to pray 5AM in the morning. While that is a beautiful thing to do, the only issue I have with it is the fact that they make use of this megaphone during the prayer and they increase the volume to the maximum. I find this to be very disturbing, but unlike Lagos, there is nothing much I can do about it because there are no laws against noise pollution here in Ogun state.
As long as proper laws aren't in place to address issues like this, I might just have to continue keeping up with them, but I believe the best way to deal with my neighbors in both States is just to relocate to a much more calm and serene environment.
Until then, I leave everything in God's hands. 😅
Thank you very much for reading to the end.
