By EMEKA ORAETOKA 

DATA economy is a digital ecosystem in which data is gathered, organised, and exchanged by a network of companies, individuals, and institutions to create economic value. From this, it is obvious data is the driver of world economy of today, but we must understand the link between data and cost effective transportation network, to better appreciate the importance of postal services around the globe, NIPOST inclusive.

When this writer read the post made by Bosun Tijani, the Minister of Communication, Innovation, and Digital Economy, on the X platform, where he asked Nigerians for their thoughts on what they believe an ideal NIPOST should look like I became totally surprised that a minister in Nigeria can take interest in NIPOST, regarded by those in government as a “dead” agency. Upon inquiry about the man, Bosun Tijani, I was told he is the CEO of CcHub, a tech giant in Nigeria.

I was further told he was recommended for appointment by a leading personality in tech industry in the world. What convinced me about the reason for Bosun’s appointment is the fact that he was vehemently against the APC government before now. So, what made an APC government give someone who did not see anything good in them an appointment? The answer probably lies in his background. A thorough investigation revealed that Bosun is not a pushover in tech industry, meaning where giants like Jeff Bezos, Bill Gate and others are talking, he can equally talk.

What surprised this write about Bosun is his honest admission, like Jeff Bezos, that without the postal establishment, tech industry is almost useless, as far as digital economy is concerned. The point I am making derives from Jeff Bezos’s view on US Postal Service: “Amazon would not be the $995 billion company it is today without the US Postal Service.

The Postal Service gave Amazon a huge helping hand from the outset, as the online retailer did not have to invest in a delivery network. I didn’t have to build a transportation network to deliver the packages, it existed: it was called the Post Office”. For those who don’t know Jeff Bezos, his net worth is $139 billion as of May 2023, making him the third-richest person in the world. Bezos is the founder and former chief executive officer, CEO, of Amazon. He remains the executive chair of the company. 

A critical look at Bosun Tijani’s tweet on NIPOST reveals alignment with the above thought process of Jeff Bezos on the importance and relevance of the postal service to commercial digital platform, Amazon and by extension, US economy. “NIPOST with over 1,180 post office outlets and 3000 agencies should be playing critical roles in the country’s digital economy. As we innovate towards a stronger digital economy, the role of NIPOST cannot be underestimated. Please share some of your hopes for the ideal NIPOST in the comments,” Bosun Tijani said.

It is very clear that Bosun Tijani and Jeff Bezos are on the same wavelength on the critical role postal establishments play in the tech industry. It thus appears that the Ministry of Communication, Innovation, and Digital Economy now has a Minister that knows the importance of NIPOST and the crucial role it will play to digital economy agenda of the Federal Government.

The real issue here is how Nigerians with ideas on how NIPOST could be repositioned, share it effectively? Yes, through comments on Twitter, one can share hope for the ideal NIPOST, but this writer thinks Twitter may not be best avenue to harvest ideas on re-positioning NIPOST for profitability and employment generation. The Minister and his team may think of other avenues to reach out to Nigerians with direct and indirect action plan on how best to reform NIPOST.

Good enough, Dr Bosun Tijani being a tech expert will find it easy to convince President Tinubu on the need to take NIPOST seriously, if government wants ICT (data) to truly drive the economy to real prosperity. Before now, the greatest obstacle to NIPOST repositioning was the “negative mindset” of the Federal Government towards the agency. It is a well established fact that US Postal Service is one of the highest employers of labour in America. The Minister of Communication and Digital Economy may advise the FG to reform NIPOST, using US Postal Service template. NIPOST must not be a competitor, as well as a regulator because it will make the agency a lazy establishment.

Apart from FG’s negative mindset towards NIPOST in the past, another deadly problem the agency is grappling with is the “Civil Service Attitude” of its workers. NIPOST is the only FG’s agency that is directly involved in selling of commodity, transportation and services; other agencies are only involved in service provision. So, the task before Bosun Tijani here is re-orientation of NIPOST workers to purge them of “Civil Service Mentality”. This will allow them to know that they are FG workers with a difference. Training and enlightenment is crucial here.

Steps and strategy for the repositioning of NIPOST to effectively discharge mandate

In response to Dr. Bosun Tijani clarion call on how best NIPOST can be reformed to discharge its functions effectively and efficiently, I wish to present this view (roadmap) on the repositioning of NIPOST, which I think can add value to the reform of the agency. It is my core belief that for NIPOST to bounce back to reckoning, conscious and deliberate effort must be made to drive traffic (people’s attention) to the agency. It is my considered opinion that if government takes calculated steps through policies, to make Nigerians patronise NIPOST, just the way governments in other environments encourage her citizens to patronise their respective postal services; revenue and massive employment will be generated. It is also my considered view that the following steps can help in breathing live back to the agency.

1. The Minister may direct the PMG to seek collaboration with International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, IITA, in Ibadan, on how the agricultural research institute can distribute scientifically improved seedlings to rural farmers all over Nigeria through about 3,500 functional NIPOST outlets in the country. This will lead millions of farmers in the rural areas of the country into trooping to the agency’s outlets in their various localities to get the seedlings. 

*Oraetoka, an advocate of postal reform initiative, wrote from Abuja via: [email protected]