Back then, the shout alone was enough: “Wole-wole ti de!” and everybody ran to sweep, cover pots and clear the gutter.

The sanitary inspector, dreaded and respected in equal measure, had arrived to enforce cleanliness in homes, a role known in Yoruba as ‘Wole-wole’, meaning “enter house and search’’.

Today, that era feels distant, but a News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) survey across Ibadan, Abeokuta and Ilorin shows respondents’ views on whether it should return, and how.

The question matters because, especially in South-West Nigeria, one household’s cleanliness was never considered an entirely private matter.

A health problem in one compound could affect neighbouring households through contaminated water, improper disposal of human waste, refuse accumulation, poor drainage, and the like.

However, as medical science, public health knowledge and environmental management developed, it became increasingly clear that a wider range of environmental factors influence human health.

Hence, environmental health gradually emerged as a broader professional discipline, with the understanding that public health expands beyond keeping residential compounds clean.

Nonetheless, the question remains whether the nation can reawaken public sanitation that recognises preventive medicine by averting sanitary and environmental conditions that encourage disease to spread.

Mrs Oluyemisi Oyewo, Provost of the Oyo State College of Health Science and Technology (OYSCOHEST), Eleyele, Ibadan, called for strengthened sanitary inspection practice in Nigeria.

Oyewo urged governments at all levels not to wait for disease outbreaks before giving adequate attention to environmental sanitation, noting that prevention remains better and less costly than cure.

According to her, environmental health challenges, such as food contamination, poor waste disposal, open defecation, inadequate drainage systems and other public health hazards are increasing.

She said that the return to sanitary inspection should not be seen as going back to an outdated system, but as an opportunity to modernise and strengthen environmental health services.

The provost said a strengthened environmental health service, engaging Environmental Health Officers (EHOs), would go a long way in addressing contemporary public health challenges.

She emphasised that health officers would be expected to inspect residential premises, markets, schools, restaurants, hotels, abattoirs and other public places to ensure compliance with established hygiene and sanitation standards.

However, she identified inadequate funding, insufficient infrastructure, a shortage of qualified teaching personnel and limited training resources as challenges affecting the production of adequate numbers of EHOs.

She also highlighted inadequate government recruitment and absorption of graduates, as well as the need for greater recognition of EHOs as essential frontline public health professionals, as some other challenges.

On manpower, she cited a 2019 estimate by the Director of Environmental Health, Federal Ministry of Health, that Nigeria needed to raise sanitary inspectors from about 7,000 to 35,000.

She emphasised, however, that the figure was a historical estimate and not a verified assessment of the current workforce.

She recommended a comprehensive manpower audit for Oyo State.

“The audit is to determine the number of registered and practising EHOs, their distribution across the 33 Local Government Areas and the actual staffing requirements for effective service delivery,” she said.

To restore sanitary inspection, Oyewo called for the recruitment of qualified EHOs, adequate funding for environmental health departments, and equipment such as vehicles, motorcycles, inspection kits, protective clothing, and communication facilities.

She advocated stronger enforcement of existing environmental health laws, regular inspection of food establishments, improved professional recognition and closer collaboration between government and training institutions.

Oyewo also recommended adopting digital monitoring systems to improve premises registration, inspection records, food safety monitoring, reporting of environmental health violations and follow-up inspections.

She stated that every local government should have a functional Environmental Health Department, adequately staffed with qualified personnel and equipped to carry out its statutory responsibilities.

She explained that OYSCOHEST, with its historical roots in the former School of Hygiene, has continued to contribute to middle-level health manpower training and development.

“This is particularly through its Environmental Health Technology programmes.

“The college’s training programmes equip students with theoretical knowledge and practical competencies in food hygiene, water supply, sanitation, waste management, pollution control, vector and pest control, environmental health inspection and community health education.

“The institution also exposes students to practical field experiences to prepare them for the demands of professional practice,” she said.

A strengthened sanitary inspection, she said, would require a coordinated national commitment, involving government institutions, professional regulatory bodies, educational institutions, market associations, food vendors, community leaders and the general public.

Oyewo underscored the need for appropriate education and regular inspection of food vendors and food-handling businesses.

She stressed that those who comply with established hygiene standards should be encouraged, while persistent violations should attract appropriate sanctions in accordance with the law.

Describing sanitation as more than the cleanliness of the physical environment, the provost maintained that it is fundamentally about disease prevention, public safety and the protection of human lives.

Meanwhile, Dr Ifeoluwa Odedina, a Public Health Physician at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, described the advocacy for sanitary inspectors to return as a regressive step.

Odedina said sanitary inspectors were sub-professional cadres, while EHOs are the real professionals, better trained to inspect food premises, abate nuisances and tackle health risks.

However, he said EHOs appear less effective than old sanitary inspectors because of the nation’s population explosion: from about 60 million then to about 240 million now.

According to him, EHOs are willing to work, but inadequate materials are pushing many professionals out of the country, further depleting the already slim workforce.

The public health physician called on government authorities to pay more attention to environmental health services.

On the health risks of unhygienic food preparation by vendors, he said it could lead to food poisoning and life-threatening conditions like cholera, typhoid and dysentery.

According to him, these diseases cause vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal upset and can even lead to death from dehydration.

He said that since most diseases start in the environment, an empowered workforce can make a healthier society.

Odedina emphasised the importance of EHOs in sanitary inspection, market inspection, abattoir management, nuisance abatement, refuse evacuation, and proper burial of corpses.

However, the Ogun Government dismissed the concern that sanitary inspectors were no longer visible.

The Commissioner for Environment, Mr Ola Oresanya, said sanitary inspectors had remained active across communities, markets and other public places.

Oresanya said that the perception that sanitary inspectors were no longer active might depend on where people expected to see them.

He explained that the officers still carry out routine inspections, respond to complaints and visit communities to monitor environmental sanitation.

According to him, although the inspectors may not be sufficiently visible in some areas, it would be inaccurate to conclude that their services are no longer available.

The commissioner, however, acknowledged that the state needed more sanitary inspectors to improve environmental monitoring and enforcement.

He identified inadequate logistics as one of the many challenges confronting the officers, noting that they require mobility support to discharge their responsibilities effectively.

Oresanya also disclosed the introduction of specialised training programmes to improve inspectors’ capacity to address emerging environmental and social challenges.

According to him, the knowledge officials acquired during their formal education may no longer sufficiently meet the changing demands of community sanitation.

Alhaji Kamaldeen Akintunde, a member of the Environmental Health Officers Association of Nigeria, Ogun Chapter, called for stronger sanitary inspection and improved welfare for EHOs.

Akintunde said effective sanitary inspection requires regular training and retraining of officers, adequate logistics, including vehicles, protective equipment and inspection tools, in addition to sufficient manpower.

He also identified inadequate funding, poor remuneration, public resistance, political interference and weak enforcement as other challenges confronting sanitary inspectors.

According to him, occupational hazards, corruption, poor inter-agency collaboration and limited professional development opportunities also undermine the effectiveness of environmental health officers.

He stressed the need for consistent inspections of residential buildings, markets, restaurants, hotels, food processing facilities, abattoirs and schools.

Akintunde noted that such exercises should be preventive rather than being restricted to periods of disease outbreaks.

He advocated public enlightenment on food hygiene, proper waste disposal, personal hygiene and environmental sanitation, and called on the government to enforce existing environmental health laws without political interference.

“The state government should strengthen the environmental health department through improved funding, welfare packages, professional recognition, institutional support and effective legislation,” he said.

Some respondents in Ilorin also shared their views on whether sanitary officers were as effective and visible as before.

A resident, Alhaji Ishaka Habeebullah, said they no longer see sanitary inspectors visiting markets, local eating spots and roadside food joints as they did in the past.

“The food we eat outside is no longer safe as flies perch on uncovered food,” he said.

A civil servant, Mrs Kudirat Abdullahi, lamented that some food vendors handle money and food with the same hands, with nobody checking them.

Mrs Atinuke Akin, a food vendor at Zango Market, Ilorin, admitted vendors’ ignorance of hygienic practices, saying unfortunately there had been no enforcement to compel compliance.

“If inspectors come regularly, we will sit up. Now, everybody does what they like because there is no one to check us,” she said.

A consultant pharmacist, Dr Muhammad Lawal, identified funding, inadequate manpower, lack of operational vehicles and equipment, and weak enforcement of sanitation laws as major challenges hindering the restoration of sanitary inspection.

Lawal said low public awareness of EHOs’ roles hinders effective inspection.

An environmental health officer in the Ministry of Health, who pleaded anonymity, told NAN that funding remains a critical challenge.

The EHO also cited the lack of transportation for community visits to monitor public adherence to proper sanitation, especially refuse disposal.

He called for collaboration among the state Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Health, the Kwara State Environmental Protection Agency (KWEPA) and local government councils to revive routine inspection.

A public health expert, Mr Adekunle Joseph, described restoring sanitary inspectors in Nigeria as an important public health issue.

He said this became necessary amid concerns about poor environmental hygiene, unhygienic food preparation, indiscriminate waste disposal and the possible spread of communicable diseases.

Joseph said that since sanitary inspectors are now known as EHOs, the debate should not be about reviving the old system but about strengthening the existing environmental health workforce.

He said introducing another cadre of personnel without clearly defining their responsibilities could create duplication of duties.

He added that the existing national policy on sanitary inspection assigns important responsibilities to local governments, including the inspections of restaurants, food establishments and other regulated premises.

The public health expert also said the policy assigns state ministries of health responsibilities for training EHOs.

“This is important because it shows that sanitary inspection already has an institutional framework in Nigeria.

“The challenge is how effectively the framework is being implemented.

“What we need in Nigeria is the reintroduction of house-to-house sanitation inspections across the states like that of olden days,” he said.

However, he identified inadequate funding, staff shortages, weak enforcement and insufficient equipment as reasons routine inspections are no longer visible in many communities. (NAN)

Edited by Modupe Adeloye and Moses Solanke