The viral video showing Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State reprimanding a market place preacher on Saturday March 8 comes with a lot of implications. To my knowledge, I am not aware of any governor that has done that in Nigeria.
Soludo is perhaps the first governor and indeed any public official that will personally take to the street to campaign against noise pollution to my knowledge. I will be glad to be proved wrong.
Rather what we see is that some states in the North of Nigeria are declaring holiday for schools because of the Ramadan fast. Such governors will not mind noise in the name of religion as long as it will serve their political interest.
Usually politicians like to play to the gallery to curry the favour of the people for political reasons. They will not go out the way Soludo did because they fear they may not win the trust of the people in another election year.
So while Soludo seems to be frontally confronting what he sees as a menace, some other governors would rather turn a blind eye.
The truth however is that the video scenario was quite amusing. The young man he was tongue-lashing for preaching in the market was looking lost as he announced to him that what he was doing was illegal.
He told him he was constituting a nuisance and he went ahead to counsel him to restrict his preaching to the church environment while also announcing a N500,000 penalty fee for all those who contravene the law.
A number of people praised the move online. Some seized the opportunity to unleash their tongue on the Church cataloguing how preachers have commercialised the gospel.
Many believe preachers who don’t respect the privacy of others should be made the face the law.
Indeed, there are all kinds of people out there who claim to preach the gospel, but who indeed are only interested in their stomach. There are cases of preachers at motor parks who pretend to preach the gospel and end up asking for support after a five-minute homily which most times are sensual.
There are bus evangelists who have made preaching the gospel a means of gain.
The truth however is, whether people are using the gospel to expand their frontiers or they are genuinely preaching the gospel, somehow some lives are being changed. And importantly, the gospel is being preached. We can’t underestimate the power of God’s word.
Soludo’s campaign
But that is not the issue here. My concern is the implication of Soludo’s campaign against noise pollution . In the first place he says the market place preaching is noise pollution. I am confused here. Is the market place a cemetery? Is there any quiet market in the first place in the entire universe?
Wondering how Soludo came about the position that the preaching of the gospel in the market place is noise pollution? So those who come to do brand promotion with musical band are not causing pollution?
I don’t really understand Soludo’s thesis on noise pollution. The point is, saying market place preaching is noise pollution is taking his campaign against noise pollution too far. I agree it’s not proper to invade the privacy of people. I agree vigils in the neighbourhood with loud speaker is not being fair to our neighbours. Its not also right to preach in the public bus where there is an instruction, do not preach or sell goods in this bus. If there is no such instruction in the bus, the preacher is free just like medication peddlers.are free to sell their goods. The rule is to respect others and respect the law of the land.
Soludo’s attempt to criminalise noise in the market place is odd. It is far fetched. Is he going to stop those who play music in the market place? Is he going to stop brand promotion in the market place? Just wondering how it will be possible to stop noise in a Nigerian market.
It is called market because it is a place for exchange of goods and services and I dare say a place to exchange ideas. Where there is market there is noise.
There is a saying in Yoruba, you don’t pay attention to the noise in the market, you only give the business you came there to do your attention. And for all you care the business of some people in the market can’t be divorced from noise.
By the way, the constitution of the land guarantees freedom of expression. If by saying people can’t express their convictions in the public place and proselyte, it will be wrong to do any form of public campaigns too in the public.
Will it be right to go campaign to win votes when it is time for elections?
In Lagos it was convenient to stop people from placing bills in public places. But when it comes to election period, the government turns a blind eye. It goes to show that sometimes many of the laws our leaders enact are not well thought out.
The unfortunate dimension of Soludo’s campaign is that it will impose a credibility problem on his government.
The question is, to what extent will he drive this campaign? It’s even ludicrous that he would be the one going out to ensure compliance. Is he that foot loose that he had to engage his feet for that assignment even if it is a one-off?
By the way is noise pollution so much a challenge in Anambra that the governor had to spare time moving around to curb the menace?
Even if he would not go out again to enforce the law, the first outing is one too many. It sends a wrong signal and shows he has too much free time at his disposal. Or perhaps he ran into the preacher on another assignment. Maybe.
Beyond that, what people are asking for is good governance and it starts from meeting their basic needs. It’s good to stop noise pollution. That is a campaign that will take a lot of orientation especially for a state like Anambra with all its attendant peculiarities.
The campaign against noise in the pubic place should be taken to the door step of religious leaders who have churches in residential areas. They should be advised on how to conduct themselves. And need for them respect the sanity of their neighbours.
The campaign should go to mobile vendors who use public address system to advertise their goods in public places. It should go to residents who hold events in street corners and deny people their right to a peaceful environment.
The governor should engage an agency that will begin to orientate motorists on the need not to hoot unduly when driving.
I have stayed a while in the east. I know some places are given to fanfare on weekends. I know a whole street for instance in Enugu called Obiagwu where masquerades invade during Easter period. During this season, masquerades hold the sway. The noise level is at decibel.
I don’t know if there is a place like that in Anambra. But it is not impossible to find such communities there. The governor should task the orientation agency to spread the campaign to every nook and cranny of the state that Anambra State is averse to noise and that it’s a state where people mind their business.
The first thing is education and then enforcement. But Soludo should go where the problem is and not go to the market place looking for noise makers. It’s like criminalising swimming in a pool arena. He will only be chasing the clout.