The national public postal outfit, the Nigerian Postal Services (NIPOST) would reportedly receive a total of N46.5 billion from the Federal Government (FG). The amount is to help NIPOST upgrade its operations this year. Acknowledged that the country is facing liquidity challenges, the FG’s failure to discharge her statutory responsibility to a strategic national institution like NIPOST is, without doubt, indefensible.
The perceived dereliction of duty by the FG amounts to parents abandoning their obligation of nurturing their children into properly socialized members of the society. New Telegraph is astonished that the Executive Branch of Government could abandon the national postal outfit without her statutorily – entitled allocation for 72 months.
In such circumstances, the organisation would be unable to fulfil its mandate, as it has regrettably turned out to be. We recall that NIPOST, right from when it was part of a larger entity, initially known as Posts and Telegraph (P & T) and later Posts and Telecommunications (P & T), has always been saddled with statutory obligations, such as the production and sale of postage stamps, collection and distribution of letters and parcels as well as the movement of goods and services.
Yet another function discharged by the outfit was the operation of a pseudo-banking service which later metamorphosed into the Federal Savings Bank (FSB). Beyond the referred responsibilities, NIPOST has the disguised capacity to support other equally strategic national institutions to make success in the discharge of their mandates.
One of the benefactor-agencies is the National Population Commission (NPC). NIPOST, like the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) is the most widely-spread national organisation. NIPOST, like NPF, has an outlet domiciled in every local government area. NIPOST could help NPC in the mapping of the different parts of the country for a more successful but cost-effective population and housing population.
The national postal outfit is also in a position to extend the same help to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the conduct of an equally hitch-free and less expensive election.
The management and staff of NIPOST over the years are partly to blame for the gradual but progressive slide of the organisation into ineffectiveness and inefficiency. Letters and parcels which were promptly delivered to their destinations during the long period of British colonialism in the country and early years of post-independent Nigeria began to reach their destinations far behind schedule.
This poor service delivery turned out to be a huge source of discouragement to individuals who desired to be effectively and efficiently served by NIPOST.
Rather than stem the drift of the national postal outfit through a more creative management style, the FG worsened matters for NIPOST and its sister and far more buoyant arm, the Nigerian Telecommunication (NITEL) Plc. by splitting the P & T. The postal arm transformed into the NIPOST while the engineering arm and the financial backbone of the organisation metamorphosed into the Nigerian Telecommunications (NITEL) Plc.
This retrogressive act was later followed up with the privatisation and liquidation of the NITEL, which was equally a retrogressive policy formulation. The splitting of the P & T as well as the privatisation and eventual liquidation of NITEL helped deny NIPOST the steady flow of internallygenerated revenue to expand its operations.
Also, NIPOST was incapacitated from protecting what she perceived as its sphere of influence as was illustrated during the stamp duty war between a perceived weakling, NIPOST and an acknowledged, financially-stronger rival, the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS).
One major way to help put NIPOST back on track is to give additional statutory responsibilities to the strategic national postal organisation. It is in this connection that we extend kudos to the FG for considering NIPOST as a fit and proper host of the proposed National Microfinance Bank while running her post offices.
If NIPOST makes a success of the proposed National Microfinance Bank, some of its disenchanted customers may return thereby helping the national postal organisation to have enhanced internally-generated revenue.
The rule that some documents should carry the stamps of NIPOST in order to become authentic should be vigorously emphasised, this will go a long way in boosting the internally -generated revenue of NIPOST. Since NIPOST boasts of an extensive spread comparable to only the NPF, it should hold itself ready to help private and public organisations in the mapping of the different parts of the country for election, population, boundary adjustments and other purposes.
In addition to serving as the outlets of the proposed National Microfinance Bank, the post offices could, while carrying out their basic mandates, also function as a cybercafé, in order to ensure a steady stream of income. Established in 1852 as one of the country’s oldest strategic public outfits, The P & T rendered postal and telecommunication services of bewildering proportions to the country, for over 140 years.
The splitting of the P & T into two different organisations would need to be reviewed for the body to continue what it was doing at the outset in 1852. Why NIPOST should intensify efforts in the haulage business, it is contradictory for it to also double as a regulatory body.
This creates an identity crisis and makes it difficult for NIPOST to be fully focused. It has to choose whether to be a regulatory body or remain an operator. In the circumstance that NIPOST opts to remain an operator, the Federal Ministry of Communications or any other existing agency should be mandated to supervise NIPOST and the army of private courier services.
At no point should a new regulatory agency be set-up as such blunder would increase the already-high cost of governance
