By Zika Bobby
As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to mark 150th World Post Day (WPD) 2024, the Nigerian Postal Service, NIPOST, yesterday renewed itself pledge for effective delivery leveraging new innovations.
NIPOST also unveiled two new stamps, post planet stamp and philatelic stamp with a 150-year logo inscribed on them.
Part of the activities to mark the day was a ‘Walk with NIPOST,’ which took off from the NIPOST office, Marina, to Broad Street to inform and educate Lagosians and Nigerians in general about the innovation NIPOST has embarked on for effective service delivery.
While speaking at the unveiling of the stamps, the Post Master-General and Chief Executive Officer, NIPOST, Tola Odeyemi, said NIPOST had gone through digital innovations to be able to meet up with modern trends in the postal world.
“Today is World Post Day and the 150 years celebration of the Universal Postal Union (UPU). It’s the platform for all postal organisations which Nigeria also belongs to. To post is a key infrastructure globally in communicating, moving mail and commerce across the globe,” Odeyemi said.
She added that countries across the globe has evolved with technological innovations and Nigeria is not an exception.
“For NIPOST, this milestone presents an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to modernisation, innovation and excellence. As we adapt to the changing needs of our customers, we are investing in technology, expanding our services and enhancing the experience of those who rely on us.
We have embraced digital transformation, integrating services such as e-commerce solutions, financial inclusion, products and efficient last-mile delivery systems.
“My vision for NIPOST remains clear: to connect Nigeria, deliver solutions and improve lives. The UPU, over the past 150 years, has been a beacon of this vision on a global scale. Today’s celebration is a reminder that we must continue to innovate, collaborate and push the boundaries of what is possible, so that we can serve future generations with the same passion, dedication and commitment.
“The world has evolved beyond post. But what countries have done with UPU is to meet changing trends globally. In Nigeria, NIPOST has gone behind posting letters, we are doing e-commerce among other digital services.”
On challenges faced by NIPOST over the years which has made it no longer attractive to Nigerians, Odeyemi mentioned dilapidated and lack of adequate infrastructure, as well as financial constraints to run the agency effectively.
“Nigerian postal service is not different from the challenges other postal services are facing. Every postal operator has gone through the same challenges Nigeria postal service is going through which is ageing infrastructure.
“The first postal office was built in 1897 and most postal offices were built during that period. There is also the issue of financial sustainability . If a postal service focuses on just one mode of business operation, there will be an issue of financial sustainability.”
She, however, noted that the government was doing all it could to reposition NIPOST.
“The Nigerian government needs to see the Nigeria Postal Service as a partner in delivering financial, social and digital inclusion and the government is doing that. We are now at the stage of troubleshooting and repositioning NIPOST for better services.”
The Special Assistant to the Post Master General, Kola Talent, said a competition was held among secondary students to design a new stamp for the 150-years anniversary and the best design was chosen as the anniversary stamp.