Keeping Our Communities Clean

Speech of His Excellency, Alh. (Dr.) Abdullahi Adamu (Sarkin Yakin Keffi), Executive Governor of Nasarawa State on the Occasion of the Flag-off of Sanitary Inspectors Programme in Nasarawa State on Tuesday, 21^ST December, 2004 at Ibrahim Abacha Youth Centre, Lafia.

We address you this morning with a sense of gratitude to God Almighty for giving us another opportunity to address those issues for which our people require government intervention. The health of our people is of primary concern to us and government is determined at all times to attend to its demands as they may arise. Our programme of introducing sanitary inspectors is therefore one of the interventionist programmes of our administration to address the basic health and environmental concerns of our people.

At independence and in the years thereafter, sanitary inspectors used to play a very crucial and significant role in the environmental sanitation practices of our people. During that period, we had a well-articulated and respected system of keeping our environment clean by obeying simple sanitation rules and regulations. Those were the golden days of principled and committed sanitary inspectors.

Of recent, however, we have observed a general decay in our habits arising from urbanisation and complacency on the part of the populace. As a result of all these, our environment is now littered with all sorts of refuse, including packaging materials, uncovered and decomposing sewage matter which are major health risk factors. Sadly also, maintaining the cleanliness of our homes is no longer a priority in most households in both rural and urban settlements.

As a responsive government, we cannot afford to watch this deteriorating situation continue unabated, since safe and clean environment are important ingredients of our preventive health programmes.

Earlier strategies employed by defunct administrations in the country employed the use of force as a means of addressing poor sanitary habits. While we do not disparage their efforts, a democratic government would prefer to use persuasion in the process of habit change. Thus the reintroduction of sanitary inspectors is to assist us appeal to the populace to change their habits towards waste disposal while at the same time reminding them that sanctions can be imposed if the regulations are not adhered to. We therefore wish to advise our people to live up to their civic responsibilities which call for a revitalized culture of maintaining a clean environment always.

It is premised on this conviction that we are reintroducing the use of sanitary inspectors in line with the provisions of the Public Health Law Cap 109, Laws of Northern Nigeria, 1963 as applicable to Nasarawa State. We feel highly honoured therefore to flag off the Sanitary Inspectors Programme in Nasarawa State today. Henceforth, officers of the Environmental Sanitation department will commence sanitary inspection of houses, tenements and other social environments on a regular basis.

To effectively carry out these responsibilities, the sanitary inspectors shall have powers to inspect areas assigned to them in order to abate environmental nuisance and to enforce the powers vested in them. Such powers shall include:

i. Right of entry to any premises;

iii. Right to destroy infectious animals;

In addition, the sanitary inspectors shall be responsible for the prescription of disposal procedures or destruction of sewage, and isolation of persons suffering or suspected to be suffering from infectious diseases.

For the avoidance of doubt, sanitary Inspectors shall work in conjunction with law enforcement officers in the execution of duties under this scheme and accordingly shall cause any individual or institution which breaches the relevant laws to be charged before a court of law.

To complement these responsibilities and facilitate the timely attainment of our desired objectives, mobile Courts are being established to dispense justice on those who breach appropriate clauses of the sanitation law.

We are all aware that good health is a pre-requisite for economic prosperity. Therefore, government has decided to focus attention on preventive health measures rather than curative health, which in any case is more expensive. In this respect, a clean environment is important in the promotion of basic health services. We therefore call on all citizens to partner with government in the prevention of diseases through our programme of sanitation and preventive health. Similarly, in the near future, this administration intends to partner with citizens of the State in refuse collection and disposal. Under this programme, households will pay a token fee, while the government will equip our urban areas with modern dustbins and refuse disposal vans for the enhancement of a clean and sustainable environment.

As I flag off this programme today, I call on the environmental health personnel involved to exhibit high degree of caution and diplomacy in dealing with the public. It is also necessary at this point to warn that Government will not spare any officer caught in corrupt practices in the pursuit of this noble cause. All of you must therefore exhibit a high sense of responsibility and maintain discipline at all times.

At this juncture, I wish to call on all Executive Chairmen of Local Government Councils and Development Areas to take this exercise with all the seriousness it deserves and work closely with the State technical team on sanitation to achieve our desired objectives. To this end all Local Governments and Development Areas are hereby directed to establish Sanitation Units under their respective Primary Health Care Departments to ensure proper coordination of sanitation activities. Such units are to be headed by Environmental Health Officers of reasonable seniority.

It is pertinent to emphasize here that the Environmental Health Personnel to be engaged should ensure gender balance in order to take care of socio-cultural peculiarities.

It is my singular honour and privilege at this juncture, to formally flag off the sanitary inspector programme in Nasarawa State.

Thank you and may God continue to bless our efforts.