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Ifeanyi Ejiofor
A lot has been said and written about postal communication, which once held sway in Africa but is now at the receiving end of ubiquitous Internet services. Postal administrations in the continent did little to improve the shoddy services rendered to customers, thus resulting in low patronage of postal services and, in some cases, outright neglect and rejection of the services. According to a World Bank report, with the exception of postal administrations in North Africa, namely, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, and the South African Post Office, postal operators in most countries of Africa are operating at a loss due mainly to poor quality of service, lack of business approach and uncompetitive prices.
The postal network of the North African postal operators is increasingly helping the post to remain a key communication network in society, touching lives at personal and community level, and enabling small and medium business transactions within and between countries, thereby significantly contributing to socio-economic development in the region. The report further disclosed that, apart from being the leading employers of labour, the postal operators thrive on revenues from financial services and have become the preferred logistics providers of micro and small businesses, thus creating access to global markets for people in the region. In 2019, the four administrations hugely profited from handling more than 1.6 billion mail items in 2019.
Even with the advancement of information and communication technologies, postal services in developed countries of Europe, North America, and those in South America and Asia Pacific still enjoy a boom through collaborations, especially in e-commerce. Today’s competition in the communications market has led to the recognition that the post, hitherto considered a purely social service and major provider of employment, can become a profitable service through better management and organization. What is required is for the sector to build the right synergy between its public service mission and the profitability requirement which is a condition for its survival.
It is on this premise that this writer views the recent launch of the “COMPENDIUM OF NIGERIAN POSTAGE STAMPS, 1914 -2014” as a brilliant step taken by the present management of the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) to unlock the hidden goldmine of the postal sector in Nigeria.
If it is true, as Walter Peter said, “that a book, like a person, has its fortunes,” then fortune has indeed smiled at NIPOST with the publication of the compendium. Through postage stamps, sometimes referred to as “miniature ambassador,” the post disseminates the history, politics, cultural heritage, symbols and features of the countries they represent. And to have these stamps produced in a century of Nigeria’s existence documented in a book form is a milestone for which the Postmaster-General and his team that conceived and birthed this legacy project deserve huge commendation.
Besides being of historical and documentary interest to scholars, researchers and journalists, the compendium will assist many Nigerians to rediscover their history, especially the roles played by our founding fathers and patriots, many of whom laid down their lives, sacrificed their careers and personal comfort to ensure that the independence, peace and unity of this great African nation are not compromised for personal ambition. In fact, the arrival of the compendium provides NIPOST staff an opportunity not to delude themselves because there is nothing new about NIPOST being involved with postage stamp and everything associated with it since it is part of its statutory functions as the national carrier of all mail within and those going outside the country. What is new is that the stamps of 100 years of Nigeria’s existence have been put together in a book format and the challenge now is how to make the book acceptable to the more than 100 million literate Nigerians.
With the benefit of hindsight, it is on record that the launching of postage stamps has served as the main key to open the gates of the seat of Government and brought our leaders close to NIPOST to appreciate the great potential of postal services in providing the much needed inclusiveness of the citizenry. Between 1990 and 1992, former military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, personally launched three different sets of postage stamps, namely, the 1991 Abuja Summits of ECOWAS and OAU Anniversary postage stamps and the Better Life for Rural Women, a.k.a Maryam Babangida National Centre for Women Development postage stamps of 1992. To demonstrate his appreciation of the role of postal services in touching lives at community level, General Babangida single-handedly inaugurated three post offices in Kuta, Kutigi and Minna in Niger State, all in one day. Ditto the late General Sani Abacha, who promulgated the famous Postal & Telecommunication Offences Decree 21 of 1995 and listed NIPOST as one of the key federal parastatals to move their headquarters to Abuja in 1996. The late Head of State directed the defunct NITEL to fund the construction of NIPOST’s corporate headquarters in Maitama, Abuja. Unfortunately, his death on June 8, 1998, not only resulted in the abandonment of the project but also led to General Abdulsalami Abubakar launching the ECOMOG 8th Anniversary postage stamps in August 1998. Although former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, was personally concerned about the leadership of NIPOST, but the presentation of a set of stamps to mark the first anniversary of the country’s return to democracy got him deeper involved in the affairs of the sector. He not only launched the dedicated vehicles of the National Mail Route Network but also the Abuja territorial headquarters, which presently serves as the corporate headquarters.
NIPOST has in the past launched stamps with pomp and fanfare but barely recouping the cost of printing such stamps not to talk of covering the cost of hosting the fanfare.
The notion has always been that the stamps will be on sale over the post office counters for a long period of time before the huge expenditure involved will be realized, which is a good marketing strategy.
Without undermining the historical and educational value of the compendium, this time around, the job of marketing the compendium has been made easier for NIPOST through the endorsements of the book by three of Nigeria’s illustrious sons and patriots, notably, General Yakubu Gowon, former Head of State, Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, and Dr. Ahmadu Ali, former Minister of Education and chairman, Board of Trustees, Association of Philatelists in Nigeria. These great men have never hidden their desire to see a robust and viable postal system in through their association with NIPOST.
General Gowon, in his goodwill message, observed that the compendium, which captured every aspect of our national life and serves as a veritable material for projecting Brand Nigeria locally and international. Recommending the book to all Nigerians as a tool to educate our young adults about the history and various cultures of the country, the amiable leader enjoined NIPOST to use it to reawaken the dying art of philately in the country.
Professor Soyinka, who wondered if it was possible to think of a greater recognition and honour for any individual than to be celebrated on a national postage stamp in his or her life time, commended NIPOST for upholding the sanctity of communication among individuals and peoples, and for its dedication to a mission of initiatives, recalling his reason behind his affinity with the post as a result of dedicated service rendered to him. In fact, the United States Postal Services and those in major European countries have tapped into releasing postage stamps of famous individuals and are raking in huge revenues from the venture.
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Dr. Ahmadu Ali called for a business approach to the compendium by making it one of the valuable gift items for both federal and state governments, including Nigeria’s foreign missions all over the world. Going through the messages and recommendations of these personalities, one thing is clear in the messages, the desire for NIPOST to seize the momentum of the launch of the compendium to not only improve its corporate image but also gain commercially.
While philately is often, quite wrongly, seen as an unexciting pastime or hobby, a beautiful stamp can still fascinate, especially if its designer is able to arouse the curiosity or upset the patterns and habit of collectors by radically changing standard or traditional processes, by using ingenuity to turn stamps into something unique and special. The subjects found on the face of postage stamps are generally what define a particular stamp issue to the public and often a reason why they are saved by collectors or history enthusiast. Stamp collectors are an important source of revenue to the postal sector, while stamp collecting remains a popular hobby in developed countries. In the same way that a postage stamp on an envelope serves as evidence of pre-payment for delivery and proof of the date and place of dispatch, the Compendium of Nigerian Postage Stamps, 1914 -2014, will serve as a proof of the commitment of NIPOST leadership to join the efforts aimed at reawakening the consciousness of Nigerians, especially for our youths to imbibe the national ethos of diligence, hard work, and integrity. Like Dr. Ahmadu Ali said, the compendium is indeed a good corporate responsibility for NIPOST to place Nigeria in the proper perspective in the global philatelic space and among millions of postage stamps collectors and philatelists across the globe.
It is important to note that in today’s digital world, there is no room for a traditional postal administration with non-commercial attitudes and slow decision making. Competition is the key word and the market will not allow the Post to continue in its old way simply because it has a service obligation. The greatest challenge for NIPOST in times of change lies in a long and successful past. History has shown that the better you think you have done, the more difficult it will be for you to change. There is always resistance towards change, as epitomized by the philosophy, “If it was good enough for my father and his father before him, it is good enough for me”. The postmaster-general should take the gauntlet and let NIPOST make substantial impact on the consciousness of Nigerians through the compendium. What is needed now is to inaugurate a team of highly motivated staff anchored by the corporate communications department with him as the motivator. The team’s assignment would be to go round the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory to interact with principals of secondary school and vice-chancellors of universities in Nigeria both private and public with the objective of making them appreciate the importance of having the compendium as part of their teaching materials, given the fact that the teaching of History as a subject in our primary and secondary schools has been relegated to the background over the years. The team should also seek out NIPOST partners to provide support and advertorials for the review and updating the compendium for a second edition. Unfortunately, however, NIPOST has not been lucky with its acclaimed partners, majority of whom see the organization as a launch pad for their private businesses. Collaboration with the board of trustees of the Association of Philatelists in Nigeria to explore ways of resuscitating the dying art of philately in Nigeria as well as the setting up of philately clubs in universities and secondary schools, including philatelic museums in the six geo-political zones and Abuja is also very important. This, no doubt, may take some time, but with the compendium it will be a worthwhile venture. There is also the need to begin to seek collaboration for philatelic exhibitions between Nigeria and other countries. Countries like Egypt, Morocco and Saudi Arabia have in the past sought to hold such exhibitions, while Brazil and Cuba actually held successful exhibitions in Nigeria in 1993 and 1994.
On a more important level, it has become incumbent on the postmaster-general to pay a courtesy visit to the President Muhammadu Buhari to brief him about the main objective of publishing the compendium. While NIPOST takes the credit for producing the compendium, as the first citizen and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the President remains the custodian of all educational and historical tools that can be used to change the opinions and impressions of foreigners about Nigerians.
Considering the number of diplomatic shuttles of world leaders and envoys to the Aso Rock Villa on a daily basis, NIPOST’s corporate image will be greatly improved. The postmaster-general and his team should work out an itinerary plan to visit all the state governors, as part of efforts to make them use the compendium as a gift item to their development partners and foreign investors, thus making the book a truly Brand Nigeria material. Visits to the leaders of the National Assembly should be on the cards, while the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Information and Culture, Education, Sports and Youth Development should be approached to launch the book for the Brand Nigeria project.
Efforts should be made also to reach out to traditional rulers with copies of the book, which they can use to educate their subjects mostly the youths in the rural areas. Between June 1991 and May 1992, this kind of effort was made and the result was the Decree 41 of 1992, which is now referred to as the Nigerian Postal Service Act. As someone who has a strong emotional attachment to the post office, I will continue to make my little contributions until my dream of seeing a NIPOST that meets the yearning and aspirations of Nigerians in terms of efficient and prompt service delivery is realised.
•Ejiofor is an Abuja-based media professional
