By Giwa SHILE
Dancers and disc jockeys on Sunday decried the ban on the use of public address system and music gadgets at this year’s Lagos International Trade Fair.
They said the music ban at the ongoing Fair had affected their livelihoods and rendered many youths idle.
Miss Yetunde Gbadebo, an undergraduate at the Lagos State Polytechnic, said that she used the money realised from her dancing engagements at the Fair for her upkeep and to support her education.
“Yearly, I look forward to the commencement of Lagos Trade Fair because for the past three years, various exhibitors engaged my service as a dancer and paid me between N2,000 to N3000 daily.
“But with this no music directive, there is no need for our service, my friend and I are just roaming around the fairground with the hope that the situation will change for better,” she said.
Mr Chidi Nelson, a disc jockey, said that the fair was a once in a year opportunity for him to showcase his talent while also making money.
“I feel so disappointed with this ban on music gadgets; I earn between N5000 to N10,000 daily at past fairs, depending on the company that I work with.
“Music is life; it makes the fair exciting. Some visitors are attracted to an exhibitor’s stand because of music and dancing activities, and from there they purchase the goods displayed, but now the fair seems boring,” he said.
However, a European Union exhibitor, Mr John Malcolm, , said that the ban on music was commendable, noting that it was an improvement upon the noise experienced during past fairs.
Chairman, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mr Gabriel Idahosa, said that the ban on the use of public address system and music gadgets at the fair ground was to control noise pollution.
He said that the chamber had educated exhibitors on how noise pollution was injurious to health and have enlightened them on other marketing alternatives.
Idahosa said that a central public address system had been positioned at strategic points at the fair to disseminate information and play music.
The annual fair, organised by LCCI, began on Nov. 2 and will end on Nov. 11.
