NIPOST Surviving Without Letters

[Shola Sholaz]

When was the last time you visited a post office to transact business? When was the last time you posted a  letter or purchased a postal stamp?  What have taken the places of postal services in your business, career or personal life?
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NIPOST: An agency in search of relevance Would you rather move your packages from one destinationto another through NIPOST or a private courier company? How do you transfer money locally and internationally? Answering the above questions would help you appreciate the impact of the internet, e-money transfers and the social media in today's Nigeria as it affects postal services. We now operate e-money transfers and local money transfers  and globally, there is Western Union that tranfers money in minutes.
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Before the advent of internet and Glo bal System of Mobile Communications in Nigeria, communication  businesses in the country were mainly transacted  through  postal services, operated by  government. Before 1985, Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), was known as Postal and Telecommunication (P&T) which comprised of both Postal and Telecom Operators of the Federal Government of Nigeria. It was the separation of the Postal from Telecom that gave birth to NIPOST and NITEL respectively.
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In 1987, the government  divided the Postal and Telecommunications(P&T) into two:  the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited ,(NITEL) and Nigerian Postal Services, NIPOST , with Mallam Ibrahim Mori Baba  as Post Master General and Chief Executive Officer. NIPOST was offering services like First Class mail and Domestic Mail amongst others. It had more than 20,000 employees and runs more than 5,000 post offices. The Nigerian Postal Service also runs businesses like EMS, Bulk Post Venture, NIPOST Central Workshop, Philatelic Services, Courier Regulatory Services, Parcel Post Venture and Nipost PostCash.