The Lagos State Government has declared October 15, 2014 as “Horn Free Day” as part of measures to sensitise residents to the harmful effects of noise pollution.According to a statement by the Lagos State Government on Friday in Lagos, Governor Babatunde Fashola, who made the declaration explained that the Horn Free Day was an initiative of his administration to persuade citizens that “there is a better way to live than indulging in noise pollution which has been found to be harmful to their health”.
The Governor said that there was need to bring the harmful noise level in the state, put at 70 decibels and above, down significantly because the global standard for measuring noise, “90 decibels is rather too high and harmful to human health”.
“It is for our own good, it is for our own health, it is for our own life. It is not because Governor Fashola said so. It is not because Lagos State Government said so. It is simply because it is good for us. Doctors have told us it is for our own ultimate good.
“What we see in a way that we now choose to live is that because we live in a very noisy environment, which we can really diminish, we tend to be very noisy ourselves. We speak at the top of our voices, we play music at very high decibels and we do very many things at very high levels,” the governor said.
He pointed out that the campaign against noise pollution was a response to the petitions and complaints of “citizens and tax payers who, on daily basis, write and petition us that somebody is preventing them from sleep either from the noise they are making or from other uncharitable activities they are carrying on without regard for the well-being of their neighbours”.
He noted that the Lagos State Ministry of Transportation and all its affiliated agencies, the Drivers’ Institutes, the Transport and the Law Enforcement Institutes, have all taken the Horn-Free Day challenge up to the level of implementation.
“I want you to remember as we leave here today that starting from the 15th of October, whether we reduce noise or not starts from you and me. If you and I make the commitment to do something positive in order to reduce noise, clearly you and I will benefit,” he added.
APA