Lagos (Nigeria) – Authorities in Lagos state, south-west Nigeria has shut down 70 churches, 20 mosques, as well as 10 hotels, pubs and club houses due to high noise levels in the environment.
The state, which had a population of about 20 million, constantly had a background of noise ranging from the blaring of car horns to the Muslim call to prayer and the loud singing in churches.
The state government pledged to make the city, Nigeria’s economic and entertainment hub, noise-free by 2020.
The Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LEPA) said that it would no longer allow people to pray in makeshift buildings and tents.
General Manager of LEPA, Bola Shabi, said that noise levels had been reduced by 35% but that this was still not an acceptable figure.
Shabi said, “Enforcement is a continuous exercise and we have set a target for ourselves. We want to ensure that Lagos is noise-free by 2020.”
Shabi added that mosques had been more compliant to the new regulations than churches. He said mosques had adhered to requests to limit their noise output immediately, according to reports by Vanguard.
The high noise levels were a result of Nigeria being a very religious country with a high number of evangelical churches operating in Lagos. Christian Evangelist, TB Joshua enjoyed a huge following in Lagos.
Source: News24
