By Ebele Orakpo

Traffic along the Ikeja-Oshodi road was moving at snail’s speed as is usually the case in the morning hours. Then came this trailer driver, usually called ‘kill and go,’blaring the horn every five seconds, disturbing everyone in the process.

Commuters not only had to contend with the heat and smoke from vehicles but now, noise pollution has been added. Some people pleaded with the lanky trailer driver to stop but it was like the pleas spurred him to more action because the honking was now coming at shorter intervals.

The noise was so irritating that TJ couldn’t bear it anymore: “What is this nonsense about? Why must he disturb everyone else? They are always in such a hurry going nowhere.”

“He’s a naughty man, don’t mind him. That’s how they misbehave. Simply because they drive very big vehicles does not give them the right to disturb the peace of everyone else,” said Pat.

“I think he just wants to get noticed and nothing more,” stated Stella to which TJ replied: “Well, is there no better way of doing it than disturbing everyone else?”

“What better way than what he is doing right now? At least everybody’s attention has been drawn to him whether you like it or not,” submitted Tim. Continuing he said: “To them, size is might, the bigger, the better.

They always derive some satisfaction from chasing smaller vehicles off the road.”  “It’s not only the trailers,” chipped in Funke, “the molues do that a lot too, intimidate smaller vehicles to submission and they do it with reckless abandon not minding the about 100 passengers in the vehicle. I shudder when I watch some of them drive.”

Tankers in a Lagos traffic gridlock

“Are you telling me? When they are involved in an accident, it is almost always fatal. Remember the one that plunged into the water at the Third Mainland Bridge,” noted Becky.

As if the tanker driver knew they had stopped talking about him, he blared the horn again, this time longer and immediately drew attention to himself again.

“He is really feeling cool with himself. I think the problem is that we are still very backward. If it were in advanced countries, he would have been sanctioned. Unfortunately, this is Nigeria where anything goes,” said TJ.

“The annoying thing is that he and his ilk are destroying our health. I have come to realise that most Nigerians are partially deaf. We live in a very noisy environment and gradually, our ear drums are being destroyed.  In fact, I read somewhere that human ears can withstand noise up to a certain level beyond which it will damage the ear,” reported Becky.

“Oh, is that why some people say Nigerians are partially deaf? A friend of mine who is married to an Oyibo woman said initially, the wife was complaining that he had hearing problem and that he always talked loudly which to him,  was very normal back home in Nigeria,” stated Funke.

“Absolutely! It is possible because we are constantly being exposed to noise and the ears get used to the noise so that when someone speaks to you in a lower tone, you tend not to hear them,” said Pat.

“I think there should be laws guiding these things. We may be unaware of the health danger we are subjecting our people to. Experts have warned that noise pollution can cause hearing impairment, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, annoyance, premature ejaculation, bowel movements, sleep disturbance, death, and decreased sexual performance,” Tim reeled out to the consternation of others.

“Abeg, na lie, you can’t be serious. Ordinary noise causing all these?” queried Joshua who had been quiet all along.

“Didn’t you hear that the Lagos Stage Government conducted investigation in some public schools recently and discovered that more than 60% of pupils in those schools have hearing impairment due to their daily exposure to a noisy environment? From homes, to the streets, to the market place, to the places of worship, everywhere, we are being inundated with noise from various sources.

Everyone heaved a sigh of relief when traffic was decongested and the tanker driver zoomed past the commuter bus.