By Dayo Johnson (ONDO)
NIPOST office in Akure, the Ondo state capital is a ghost of its former self following the advent of electronic mail and social media through which Nigerians send mail instantly with little or no cost.

Except the Courier services, and buying of stamps by few people, no transaction takes place in the office.

Infact because of the low traffic to the post office located very close to the traditional ruler of Akureland, Oba Adebiyi Adesida, shops and other small kiosks have taken over the entrance of the office.

A visit to the post office showed that  few staff that work there were busy playing away while only one person attends to those who wanted to buy stamps and another person handles the courier service section.

This Reporter who  spent one hour at the Post Office  noticed that only one person came in to buy  stamp within an hour.

In an interview, one of the staff said that they are wasting away because patronage has drastically reduced following internet services.

Speaking in confidence, our source said that technology has rendered them useless as they are no more that relevant as they were before the advent of  electronic media. He appealed to government to redeploy them to other relevant agencies where their services would be needed.

Mr Adedeji Amusan who came to buy the stamp said he came to buy stamps because of a transaction with the state government which he needed to attach a stamp to before he can be paid his entitlement.

Mr Amusan said that the advent of electronic media which provides instant delivery of messages has “killed and buried” NIPOST permanently. According to him, the late delivery and theft of letters and documents when NIPOST was in vogue  has taught Nigerians a big lesson and they would not pray for the repeat of such experience.

One of those who sell envelops, gums and other writing materials in front of the post office complained of low patronage. He said that their sales have been greatly affected unlike before when they make huge sales on daily basis.

A visit to the state headquarters of the postal service in Akure metropolis showed that activities in the the two-storey building has reduced greatly.

The workers there  on resumption in the morning sign in their names at the ground floor and retire to  their offices to while away the time and leave for their homes later in the day.
Efforts to speak with those met in the office proved abortive as they refer this reporter to their  Headquarter office for comments on the state of the postal service. But a staff who spoke in confidence took a swipe at  the Federal government for the deplorable state of almost all of its agencies including NITEL.

He said that government should act decisively on the next line of action as regard its  agencies and parastaltals. According to him, some of its agencies should be merged and workers deployed to where they would be productive rather than wasting away.

It’s a mixed bag (IMO)

BY CHIDI NKWOPARA
The fortunes of Nigerian Postal Service, NIPOST, in Imo State appear to be what a careful watcher would call “a mixed bag”, especially with the advent of internet technology. A recent visit to the two post offices located in Owerri municipality showed that the human traffic that characterized the establishment years back has disappeared.

Workers were seen attending to just a few individuals that came to transact their business in the place, while the open space in front of the Douglas Road, Owerri, Main Post Office have been taken over by all manner of hawkers and stall owners.

An attempt to find out who rented the open spaces from the traders proved abortive as none of them wanted to talk to Saturday Vanguard and be quoted on the issue.

An indigene of Owerri, Mazi Damian Nze, told Saturday Vanguard that although NIPOST cannot be said to have closed shop in Imo State, their services is obviously facing a lot of challenges over the years.“A lot of people no longer write.

They now believe in using the internet, which apparently is a faster and safer way to communicate with anybody or group, irrespective of the distance”, Nze reasoned.

Another citizen, Mr. Kelechi Okpara, volunteered that his family has consistently maintained the Post Office Box they acquired some years ago.

“Some of our sensitive documents still come through the post office. This is one of the reasons why we decided to maintain the facility till date”, Okpara said.

Saturday Vanguard recalls that postal services suffered serious setback January 8, 2013, following the barricading of post offices in Owerri, Imo State capital, by scores of retirees of the federal establishment.

The frail, aged and angry pensioners of Nigerian Postal Service, NIPOST, were protesting their non-payment of several months of their pensions and gratuities.

The aggrieved NIPOST pensioners equally vowed that they will not unlock the gates of the post offices until they are paid what they called “our legitimate entitlements”.

They were particularly irked that the relevant authorities have either refused or neglected to keep their earlier promise of defraying the unpaid pensions.

One of the pensioners, Mazi Joe Nlemadim Anokwu, wondered what government wants them to do, adding that so many of them have died without getting their gratuities or pensions.

This ugly situation has made the serving staff of NIPOST to seriously worry about their future, even as some of them, who spoke on strict grounds of anonymity, appealed to the Federal Government to redress the ugly situation.