Noise as modern epidemic (1)

MAN is born with noise and dies with it, thus noise is an inextricable phenomenon that every man has to live with. The birth of a new born baby is always accompanied with cries and shout of jubilations. His christening is celebrated with pomp and pageantry. His birthdays celebrated with music and his funeral with cries and wailings.

No wonder the phenomenon call noise is a congenital ailment. Unfortunately, noise like smog, is a slow agent of death. It may not appear as a threat to global environment on the same level as deforestation, hazardous wastes or emission of poisonous gases into the atmosphere but if it continues the next 30 years as it has for the last 30 years, it could become lethal.

If care is not taken, noise may become a more deadly ailment than Ebola. I can remember when former Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola declared a day as a horn free day in Lagos.

Many Lagosians were sceptical of the workability of the initiative. Their reasons were not far-fetched. Lagos has been known to harbour a lot of eerie drivers who know next to nothing than hooting of their cars’ horns at the slightest traffic provocation. Some commercial drivers are fond of hooting their horns along the rhythm of the songs they are playing in their vehicles generally referred to as danfo.

When two friends run into themselves on the highways, the next thing is for them to hoot the horns of their cars as a form of greetings! Another reason is that on sighting the red traffic light, most drivers are quick to hoot thinking that by so doing the red light will change to green.

Driving in Lagos is incomplete without drivers hooting their horns at every five kilometres cover! Albeit the aforesaid, the initiative worked with small numbers of defaulters.

The level of compliance was so high that someone had to suggest in one of the social media that the initiative should be a yearly thing. But if truth be told, notwithstanding the level of compliance, Lagos looked like a grave yard for the period the horn free day lasted.

Lagos was the shadow of itself. Everywhere was quiet and a friend had to tell me that abnormality is what makes Lagos a unique place. It is widely believed that any initiative that works in Lagos will work in other parts of Nigeria.

The survival and healthy existence of man depend largely on the enabling environment where he resides, as disruption in the conducive environment may lead to dysfunction in his health status.

It is discovered that noise pollution in Nigerian cities is relatively high when compared to recommended levels by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Noise is not inherently harmful to the human or environment.

It is when it becomes unusually loud and uncontrolled that it diminishes the quality of air and adversely affects the environment, public health and welfare. It is believed that sound at the level of 80db and above has become physically irritating.

Constant exposure to excessive noise may have serious detrimental effect on human’s health and behaviour. Despite the campaign by governments even at local and international levels and concerted efforts made by individuals and governments globally towards enhancing pollution free environment, noise pollution has been relatively neglected.

The stance is disturbing for many reasons: Sleep disturbance, hearing loss, lack of concentration, cardio vascular diseases, stress and accidents. I could remember that I got a research work from a friend some months back and I had promised to deliver the work within two days, especially with the financial incentives attached to successful completion of the work.

Being a weekend, I decided to work overnight- Saturday to Sunday. At exactly 4.30 a.m., I heard a strange noise emanating from a mobile megaphone in the front of my house punctuated at interval with crusade-like songs.

I had believed that within the next few minutes the noise would abate. As if led by the spirit, the man with his megaphone decided to turn the front of our gate to his crusade ground and also shouting at interval that occupants of this house should desist from their evil ways. For the next 30 minutes the man did not leave the gate of our house and neither did the tempo of his ‘divine’ message nosedive.

I couldn’t go out to warn the man so that I would not be painted as the devil emissary insinuated in his sermon but it was such an experience that dealt a blow on my research work. Concentration on task and reading achievement are affected in noisy homes or work places. Studies have revealed that chronic exposure to noise affects cognitive function and comprehension. Children exposed to noise have been discovered to have difficulties concentrating in comparison to students from quieter schools.

Noise does not have to be loud before it becomes harmful. A neighbour blaring music from public address system or generator sound may cause stress to the body’s system.

Studies have revealed that chronic exposure to noise affects cognitive function and comprehension. Children exposed to noise have been discovered to have difficulties concentrating in comparison to students from quieter schools’’

Exposure to moderately high levels of noise causes a statistical rise in stress. Traders, especially record sellers, barbing saloon owners blare out sound from high wattage loudspeakers often stationed by the streets with each trader trying to outdo the others in the advertisement of goods and services.

Drug vendors with high-decibel speakers on the roof of their vehicles ply the streets in an attempt to score advantage over those operating in stores along the main streets. Government parastatals and agencies as well as corporate bodies also contributed to noise pollution. For example, in some places, Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) ply major streets with vans mounted with loudspeakers and recorded messages, to plead for payment of electricity bills; same thing applicable to Waste Management Authority, Water Corporation. To be continued. • Oni is a PhD student of University of Lagos. He can be reached on 08065848504 or speciela@yahoo.com