By Josephine Uzorh and Nwite Juliet
What’s a postage stamp? An intern inquired when told to buy one at the post office.
Google, however, provided a useful resource in answering the question. It displayed different images of the stamps with their denominations embossed.
A letter or document had to be sealed with a postage stamp to get to its destination. It comes in different denominations which determine the importance attached to the package, and it can only be purchased at NIPOST, also known as the post office.
Before the internet revolution, the main revenue source of the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) was selling postage stamps to Nigerians who rely on the post office to deliver their letters to friends and loved ones.
But in the last 17 years, that revenue base started depleting when telecommunication services were liberalized. People started relying on their phones and the internet to communicate with their loved ones. Today, postage stamp brings in little or no revenue for NIPOST.
Has the post office become a communication relic? NIPOST deputy zonal manager, corporate communications, Mrs Bolanle Ekeogu, disagrees.
In an interview with TheNiche in her office in Lagos, she explained that the internet and technology have only made the post office more relevant and vibrant.
She said the post office offers financial services through the use of codes. This service is meant to assist the people in the areas without Banks.
“Our financial inclusion is through our financial services, to the unbanked areas. Some areas do not have banks, because they are not feasible. But NIPOST gets there, there is no area in this country that you would not find NIPOST,” Ekeogu said.
NIPOST also offers the Digital Addressing System and the Address Verification System.
The digital addressing system enables customers to identify their location. It also helps NIPOSTin sorting mails.
The Address Verification System relies on the digital addressing system. Different banks revert to NIPOST to get needed information on their customers and verify them.
She said the NIPOST now allows its customers to track the progress of their parcels through their website.
But is the postage stamp still relevant? Ekeogu said the Nigerian postage stamps are relevant in many ways.
“Our stamps are educative, every stamp you pick on our counter has a meaning and tells a story,” she said.
She explained that the stamps could either be denotative or commemorative.
The commemorative stamp is issued to commemorate an occasion, marking an event. Some banks use stamps to launch their services.
“These stamps are sold on our counters for at least a year before they are withdrawn,” she said.
For the denotative stamp, she said it carries the country’s rich heritage and cultures which could be about cultures, lifestyle, values, arts/crafts etc.
Stamp collectors (philatelic bureau) collect stamps that are out of circulation and sell at their discretion.
She also said that NIPOST, in partnership with other stakeholders, is also set to launch an e-commerce platform.
“The platform is to enable small scale and medium enterprises to reach out to customers. The platform will be like Jumia, Konga etcetera. But it would be a bit different because the government want to use it to help small and medium scale enterprise,” she said.
