The sound turns to noise when it is unpleasant or harmful to the ears. Attention is not usually given to noise pollution as compared to air and water pollution. In some parts of Nigeria, particularly, cities and major towns, noise is regarded as an indication that those areas are developed. That an urban area is characterized by its busy day-to-day economic and social activities, does not necessarily translate to a noisy city as believed by many.
True, and to a large extent, city life is a noisy life. Some drivers have become addicted to honking their horns needlessly and unnecessarily, especially among the motorcyclists (okada riders). They honk to greet or exchange pleasantries; they honk to call someone; they honk to hurry traffic personnel to let them pass; they even honk to hurry vehicles ahead of them at signalized junctions where traffic lights are stationed. But drivers, motorcyclists, commercial or private, are duty-bound to be quiet on the road. Today, honking in Ogun state has not only become an environmental issue but also a public health challenge as well. The transportation sector, the entertainment industry and predominantly, religious worship centres scattered everywhere are, unarguably the main sources of noise pollution. In fact, a report in January had it that, 60% of noise pollution in Ogun State is caused by worship centres. According to the agency in Ogun saddled with the responsibility of protecting the environment, Ogun State Environmental Protection Agency (OGEPA), noise pollution has two main effects: auditory and non[1]auditory.
The auditory effects of noise are deafness and auditory fatigue; the non-auditory effects are annoyance, mental illness, disturbance, stress, loss of work efficiency, interference in speech communication and physical disorder like, increase in heartbeats or blood pressure. One may not even suspect or feel any discomfort until serious damage is done to the ears and a hearing test would have to be conducted for confirmation of damage extent. It happens so because the auditory effect of noise pollution on the body is that it kills slowly and silently. At a recent sensitization program on the dangers of noise pollution organized by OGEPA at Sango-Ota, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Environment,
Hon. Farouk Akintunde, warned religious organisations and relaxation centres to desist from any act that could cause noise pollution within the environment, admonished that any erring organization or relaxation centres will be sanctioned. Due to the importance of a noiseless environment, a day should be set aside in Ogun where all drivers are not expected to honk. It should be tagged “Ogun horn-free day”, like it usually observes in Lagos, which comes up on October 15 every year, this will indeed create massive awareness on the need to achieve a noise-free Ogun too. That ‘Ogun No Horn Day’ should be initiated by the government, and it will help serve as reminders to drivers annually on the need to control noise while on the road. Many drivers are really keen on honking their horns unnecessarily.
Likewise, too, all illegal parks and garages which constitute nuisance and noise pollution should be scraped, while going to Olomore/ Ita-Osin, there were several garages, illegally mounted microphones at both sides of the road, which also contributes to the slow movement of vehicles, there is also a stationary motor in front of St-Peters Secondary School, selling those herbal mixtures which constitute noise threat to the school teachers and the learners itself. The government has to find a lasting solution to the noise pollution in the State. Constant exposure to noise pollution is the reason life expectancy is short and longevity isn’t guaranteed in urban areas.
In fact, most people prefer to retire in the villages in their twilight years. Old folks in the villages do not only live longer, they hear clearly and soundly lifelong because their ears are far from noise. This is a pointer to the fact that a noisy environment negatively impacts lifespans. Noise pollution is easier to control when compared to air and water. Whatever source produces noise was not originally meant to do so; it was invented to make life easier. Household gadgets, equipment, machines, or any other mechanical or electrical devices used outdoors are all designed to bring ease to human activities.
However, they have turnout ed to be sources of disturbances due to abuse or misuse. A noiseless or quiet environment brings full concentration with increased productivity at work, stress relief, good health, happiness, improved intelligence and self-confidence. Noise production is not natural, it is man-made and as such, it is controllable. We can therefore determine the noise level we want ourselves by the way we live. If everyone knows how injurious and dangerous noise pollution is to our health, then they will take noise control seriously. Neighbours of religious worship centres, clubhouses, or hotels where noise pollution takes place are at liberty to make a formal complaint to OGEPA. Such complaints when treated and eventually resolved will help residents in the neighbourhood live Northern political hegemony and Nigerian politics BY SUNDAY ONYEMAECHI EZE The effect of northern political dominance and hegemony in Nigerian politics is not in contention anymore. This is why questions have been raised by some concerned individuals about why one region should continue to rule or dominate virtually the political affairs of the country.
Of course, this is treated with levity like most validly raised Nigerian concerns. Political attempts to correct the skewed balance inherent in one region dominating the political space since independence has proved abortive. Those favoured by the imbalance will sabotage efforts to mend the already bent tripod stand. The nearest attempt of a southerner becoming elected president after independence was in the 1992 presidential election. It was won by Moshood Abiola of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, and adjudged to be free and fair. The best election ever held in the history of Nigeria. However, that election was annulled. The nation was thrown into a catastrophic political frenzy.
The consequences of that annulment contributed to the messy state of both political and economic affairs of the nation today. The raging confusion eventually threw up the candidacy of Olu Falaye of Alliance for Democracy, AD, and Olusegun Obasanjo of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, who was set free from prison to assuage the anger of the Yoruba and the South. It was a designed appointment to crown Obasanjo the head. His bid for a second tenure was tumultuous and nearly a pipe dream. The “kingmakers” of the North wanted him out by any means possible. His vice, Atiku Abubakar was the anointed who would have routed Baba had he not applied less civility and more of brigandage and arm-twisting. Goodluck Jonathan became president by Divine intervention other than personal political effort. Although he won the 2011 general election; the crisis witnessed in the North was good reason enough to understand northern position and perception of him. Jonathan religiously held unto his constitutional right to contest the 2015 presidential election but lost. He was abandoned halfway even by his party chairman and governors from the North. The Almajirai schools he built were not good enough to define his good intention for the region.
The project was abandoned after the 2015 election by those it was meant to serve their illiterate children. Have you not read Bisi Akande’s submission as reflected in his new book My Participations that even Sambo Dasuki who served as National Security Adviser, NSA, begged for Buhari to be president while serving under Jonathan? History will always remember Jonathan for that congratulatory phone call to Buhari. One can shout to the rooftops on this issue of power rotation to the South. But I bet you nothing will change except the South is prepared, very serious, and work hard for the change so desired. A robust challenge to the political hegemony of the North is key, or else, the entire South has to wait until any time the North decides to. The number is important in electoral victory. The North has it. Unity of purpose is key;
the North keys into the political unity of the region. Religion is a factor; the North has near if not complete religious Islamic unity. Many northern Christians also buy into the northern agenda. The North has a unique culture binding them together. One common Hausa language is a vital unbroken bond between both Christians and Muslims alike. Any northern candidate standing for national election automatically is a northern candidate, unlike the South. They understand when and how to take advantage of factors working in their favour to win. Can an Igbo candidate be said to represent Yoruba or Ijaw interests? The South in general especially the Southeast is already a vanquished region. Politicians of Igbo extraction understand the limit of their political and numeric strengths and unity of purpose. Therefore, they prefer to play the second fiddle.
The Yoruba nation is better fused and more organised than other tribes of the South. An Osun man can work in Lagos or Ondo with ease. However, the quantum of love showed a Fulani man from Chad in the North cannot be compared to the apparent lack of understanding and indifference common between an Igbo man from Enugu and his brother from Ebonyi.
How many Igbo civil servants work outside their states of origin? A Kanuri man who was born and bred in Katsina is free to “claim” Katsina as his state of origin without any qualms. He is employed and rises to the pinnacle of his profession without any reminder of the origin of his forebears. This is the kind of deliberate unity created in the North which is in short supply in the South. One way to demystify the northern political hegemony is for the South to be truly united in all ramifications.
The region should continue to remind itself of the need to work their talk as the 2023 elections inches closer. One will continue to interrogate the readiness of the South to work closely as a people not only to win elections but to jointly demand a policy framework that genuinely works for all. Power should be devolved while major works have to be done on the constitution.
The entire South should be united for once and forge a concrete political alliance. The effect will be gargantuan and a surprise to all. Emerging signs of the 2023 presidential election show the South already has six contenders.
Bola Tinubu, Yemi Osinbajo, Anyim Pius Anyim, Dave Umahi, Dele Momodu, and Rochas Okorocha. More will soon join the crowded race. One can imagine how the tace could turn into. The reliance of some southern politicians on the North for survival is becoming clear by the day.
Some have taken traditional titles from respected Emirate councils while others are scheming to buy the same for political relevance. One is donating cash to victims of a fire disaster. How many northern politicians are titleholders in the South?
If you are given the title of Dan Jikan Daura for instance; you will be treated like a grandson not a prince of Daura. When chicken parts are served at the dining table, yours is the head and the bony limbs. These are chicken parts specifically meant for grandchildren. If APC nominates a southern presidential candidate in 2023, PDP will feature a northern candidate and even APC members in the North will vote against their party.
It is a working strategy that the South has failed to understand. Even if they do; there is absolutely nothing they can possibly change except to take the bull by the horn. Power is taken not given they say. The understanding of the North which has made up its mind on what to do is to hold on to power at all cost.
The once-abandoned inscription of the car plate number of a state in Nigeria was “born to rule.” It is engraved in the consciousness of the people. Removing it from the plate number does not alter what kingly perception the people have of themselves.
During voting, the reality of the northern perception always plays out. There are established religious import that drives political behaviours in the North, unlike the South. The North sees Nigeria as a conquered territory. An exclusive war booty. In war, the victor decides what he does with the spoils seized from the vanquished. How do you expect a loser in war to dictate political events planned centuries ago against the defeated?
It is amusing when southern politicians insist that power must shift. How well has the South got its acts together? Every region has a ‘secret place’ for political machinations and decision-making. While the North has an unquestionable-potent-binding[1]secret place when the chips are down; that of the South is very unreliable, weak, watery, and slippery.
The South should as a matter of fact take a lesson on how to win an election from the North. This political hegemony of the North must not go unchallenged come 2023. in better health. OGEPA should bring standards for ambient noise levels to stipulate to 50, 60 and 70 decibels of sound level respectively for residential, commercial and industrial areas at day time; and at night time, 40, 55 and 65 decibels in that same order.
A popular noise pollution slogan summarizes the dangers inherent in noise thus; noise can fill your ears and put you in tears. One good way to save and care for our ears indoors or outdoors is to avoid loud sounds–noise.
A regular hearing test as means of a check-up is also recommended for the ears. Everyone should also respect the right of people around when their sound is causing a disturbance or creating a nuisance. Our society becomes saner when the environment is noiseless. Achieving a noiseless Ogun is a collective responsibility of all residents as health and environmental challenges occasioned by noise pollution will be greatly mitigated.
Let’s keep the noise down or else, the noise will keep us down. Òrúnbon, an opinion writer, poet, journalist and public affairs analyst, writes in from Federal Housing Estate, Olomore, Abeokuta, Ogun State. Can be reached via: orunbonibrahimademola@ gmail.com, or 08034493944, 08029301122.