How free was horn-free day in Lagos?
On the Friday, September 5, 2014, Kayode Opeifa, commissioner for transportation, Lagos state, declared October 15 as an annual horn-free day within the state.
Sequel to this, TheCable took on the verdict of the people and realised that many Lagosians were unaware of Opeifa’s declaration, hence the need for more publicity.
The government revved up the publicity, but Lagosians thought it impossible to attain the reality of such a day. They were right.
On October 15, TheCable went around to see how Lagosians were responding to the government’s directive to reduce noise pollution within the state. A good number adhered, but many others accidentally and intentionally violated it.
Taiwo Olaniyan, a commercial driver plying Ikorodu road, said it was impossible to for him as a driver to abstain from horning.
“I cannot do without my horn; it has saved me from road crashes many times,” he said.
“In fact, if it has any fault, I quickly take the car to the electrician to fix it. I cannot do without it.”
On the other hand, a commercial bus driver who did not apply the horn throughout a trip from Obalende to Iyana-Oworo said he was aware that it was horn-free day and he wanted to do his best to observe the day.
Many motorists around Alagbado and Abule Egba were extremely careful with their horns, same as those at Egbeda, where road users were aligning their activities with the observation of the day.
Officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) said the day was going on as expected, a vast majority of road users adhering to the directives.
Road users at Wemco road, Ogba, were of the opinion that Babatunde Fashola, the governor of Lagos state, was trying to imbue the rest of the state with his own personal ideals.
“Governor Babatunde Fashola is the only governor in Nigeria who doesn’t use siren; he is against the noise pollution most public office holders celebrate. This is exactly what I think he is trying to imbibe in Lagosians,” one of them said.
The narratives took a different turn at computer village and major parts of Ikeja, where road users were hooting endlessly.
Augustine Ezeh, an official of the Nigerian police force, said the horn-free day was an idea of the Lagos state government and had nothing to do with the Nigerian police, who are answerable to the federal government.
Babatunde Ogunyinka, a LASTMA official, said the people were responding positively, while emphasising the need for time in achieving such a feat of having a horn free. He also said there was no penalty for defaulters.
“Drivers are responding positively. Having a horn-free Lagos is not a day’s job. It is a gradual process; we cannot just achieve this at once,” he conceded.
“Over time, the people would get used to it. For now, there’s no penalty for anyone who honks.”
But there was drama at Ikeja-along, when an approaching train tried alerting the people by honking. The people momentarily dispersed but soon regrouped to complain that it was horn-free day and the trains also ought to observe.
Gov. Fashola is a very moral personality. If he can manage almost ten cars in his convoy fleet without siren for almost 8 years, and as the Executive Governor of the second populous city in Nigeria, I don’t see any reason why someone somewhere would say he can’t do without blaring his horn. I drive for weeks without my horn blared for a second. Lagosians are not just disciplined. Period!