LASEPA Warns Business Owners, Transport Workers, Churches against Noise Pollution

Funmi Ogundare

The General Manager of Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency ( LASEPA ), Dr. Tunde Ajayi, yesterday , warned Lagosians who constitute nuisance to the environment through noise pollution saying that the agency will come after them and shut down their businesses.
Ajayi who gave this warning, at the International Noise Awareness Day themed,’ Protect your Hearing, Protect your Health’ stressed the need for Lagosians to reduce the volume of their noise and be considerate of their neighbours so that the state can be habitable for everyone.
Speaking with journalists , he explained that his agency has been carrying out lots of advocacy in curbing noise pollution in the state by sensitising the public on its impact on their health and why Lagos cannot continue as a noisy city particularly in residential areas .
According to him, “one of the steps we take is sensitisation walks to commemorate the noise awareness day , we also hold stakeholders engagement with entertainment outfits and a lot of hospitality centres . These strategies put together will form our framework for our advocacy.”
Asked how successful the advocacy on noise pollution has been so far, he stated,” while we are doing advocacy, we are also balancing it with enforcement . In the last six months, we have sealed almost 150 event centres , lounges, bars, noisy clubs and even religious centres.
“By balancing these, it will help to pass the message across particular to people who will get the instruction and still continue to cause pollution.”
Ajayi added that his agency has also continued its engagements with transport workers unions and associations .
” We are going on advocacy visit to different transport hubs across town , which is supposed to help us coordinate their noise level as it were. We are offering additional values such as hearing test . We have started, and we will continue to ramp it up .”
Asked the role of students in helping to mitigate noise in the state, the general manager said,” students are the centre of any advocacy you are doing. They are the future leaders and they have a way of passing down the message to their parents .
“They are always talking and engaging everybody around them. They are pivotal in disseminating the information on noise pollution. So we literally engage them and ensure that they pass it on to their peers who will in turn pass it on to people around them.”
The Co-founder of Learner’s Corner, Mr. Julius Ilori called on students to be advocates of noise pollution by partnering with the government and take the message back to their communities, while emphasising on the impact this may on their learning and communication with their teachers .
” When there is so much noise, students will not be able to concentrate on their studies . When they become advocates, they will be able to step such efforts down in their classrooms and share with their peers so we can have a collaborative effort between young and older people and stamp out noise pollution in Lagos state.”