Sanitation duties are mainly by organizes sanitary inspections which are carried out by the sanitary assistance trained by colonial master during the colonial era of 19th century (NEHOA, 2001).
The colonial masters executed the sanitary duties of our environment in Nigeria and were known as sanitary inspectors while the African/Nigerian attached to them as their assistants were known as sanitary attendants. They were used by the masters to discharge various sanitary inspection activities like marking of tail trees that were close to residential building identification and elimination of vectors borne disease, serving of abatement notices, identification of infectious disease cases, disinfecting and disinfestations liaison between the colonial master and communities, verification of notice issued by sanitary inspector. The colonial master however introduces public health particularly of the environmental sanitation and immunization as a coercive system using sanitary inspection who the people dreaded. The people were not made to realize that these sanitary measure where in their own self interest. The sanitary inspection system achieve effective disposal of refuse, water hygiene, food hygiene, measure of immunization against disease like small pox and yellow fever.
The first problem that faced the modern Nigeria sanitary inspection early as the 1920s was the bubonic plague outbreak of 1924. They were actively involved in the control of the plague epidemic ship inspection, a vital instrument for the control of communicable disease, one of well known achievement recorded was the eradication of such disease as small pox and yam (NEHOA, 2001).
Furthermore, the typical rural community in the past kept the environment around their house clean. This is done by daily early morning sweeping particularly by the women. In view of overwhelming literacy and poor health education. Many other health activities and issue in the environment was poorly handle; they swept refuse and garbage was disposed off in nearly bushes. The causal association between the various environmental factors. Vectors, microbial word, diseases cycles and means of transmission could not be understood by the people. Regularly, environmental sanitation problems are made more acute but rapid urbanization and uncontrolled population growth commensurate expansion in sanitary facilities. Consequently slum shelter water and sanitation problems, indiscriminate disposal of refuse and garbage waste around the premises, poor drainage system, becomes complicated issue, the absence of the sanitary inspectors and their coercive measure, the city steadily started to suffer from environmental decay (Ashley, 1995).
Furthermore, in the military regimen, environmental sanitation program of (1983-1998) with varying degree of success. Task forces sanitation corps complimented with various edict and military tribunal to try sanitary offenders where put in place. It was during this period that the monthly environmental sanitation was introduced. The effect of environmental exercise were very conspicuous with in the era of (1984-1985), this was the regime of Idiagbor. This was however brought about some successes but could be sustained.
