Let the debate begin with Adebayo Shittu

With Nigeria’s economy in tatters, I am sure if any consultant mentions the phrase ‘QUICK WINS’ he would automatically get the ears of policy makers in any meeting. The government needs more cash and it needs it urgently. Last January’s revenue declined by N17.4 Billion – N17.4 Billion lower than December’s revenue. Having said that, I think Adebayo Shittu, minister of communication, is in a position to help this country generate a lot of money within a short period. I am not going to talk about the NCC which you might argue is a cash cow, I am going to talk about NIPOST. But, is the minister moving in the right direction?

There is so much money to be made in NIPOST. If you are among the people who think that the advent of email has made post offices irrelevant, I am sorry you are wrong. In some jurisdictions, apart from the traditional parcel delivery services, post offices provide services such international passport application and processing, Bureau de Change services, minor banking services, issuance of travel insurance and other travel related services. In fact, as a graduate student in the UK, I almost thought Royal Mail did everything. Most British people use Royal Mail, they hardly use DHL or UPS. The minister stated that he hopes to transform NIPOST to an organization that could provide a broad range of services – this is possible. But, I will argue, in this article, that it is not possible to do these things without the privatization NIPOST.

With what I have seen in post offices abroad, I was confused when Adebayo Shittu told journalists, through his aide, that government will upgrade NIPOST across the country in order to provide better services. Note NIPOST currently has post offices in 550 local government areas. I am not sure if what the honourable minister is proposing is the best way to create jobs and raise a lot of money for a government already going round the world asking for investment.

To start with, let me draw some analogy with the Royal Mail of the UK. I understand the sentiments raised whenever a policy maker mentions privatization. Most Nigerians are still unhappy with the privatization of NEPA. The good news is that the privatization of NIPOST has no reason to be as messy as NEPA’s privatization. One, the level of technicality that would be brought in by the new owners will not be as complex as what the offshoots of NEPA demand from its new owners. Two, issues such as, who owns and determines the price of gas, does not apply to NIPOST. Three, current workers of NIPOST need not worry because some shares of the ‘new company’ could be allotted to them. The Conservative government in the UK did this when they privatized Royal Mail. It is worth mentioning at this juncture that the BPE, in 2004, commissioned a study on NIPOST. The recommendations were partially implemented, but I reckon the political will to go the whole hug was missing. Besides, I have no fear in mind that any privatization process carried out in this administration would be done with the highest degree of transparency.

Now, let us get to the argument. The fight between the minster of communication and NIPOST workers on how to appoint the next Postmaster General of the Federation shouldn’t come up at a time like this. Especially, when the country is broke. This kind of fight gives the layman the impression that there are some goodies in that office.  And Buhari wants to fight corruption, doesn’t he? To reorganize NIPOST, government should transfer at least 60 percent of its shares to a private company, who will now appoint a person it deems fit to be the CEO. And off course, put this new CEO under pressure to perform because it needs to recoup its money. Note that Adebayo Shittu is trying to bring some transparency in the appointment of a Postmaster General, but shouldn’t he have left it for the ‘new owners’ to do?

With offices in 550 local government areas, NIPOST will only be second to agriculture in job creation. Government is not known for creating lots of jobs in any serious economy – most jobs are created by the private sector. The whole embracement on whether the APC promised unemployed graduates N5000 would not arise if jobs were created by establishments such as NIPOST.

If you are really worried whether privatization would work in NIPOST, think about what is happening in the Royal Mail. Last year, the British government sold off half of its remaining 30% stake in the Royal Mail. The first 70% was sold in 2013. If privatization wasn’t working, why would the government sell off its remaining stake? Did I hear you say that that was the UK, not Nigeria? Well, the resistance to the privatization was massive in the UK – the Royal Mail is over 500 years old. Conversely, in Nigeria postal services started in 1852. Besides, proceeds from NIPOST’s privatization could be used to fund our deficit budget. Or don’t you trust Buhari with the sale of government properties? I thought you trusted him?

If post offices are given to genuine investors, you will be surprised at the amount of services they can render. Let us assume we are still in the 60s when post offices only delivered letters and parcels. Do you know that there is money to be made in this business? I am sure DHL is not complaining in Nigeria. Besides, a lot of transport companies are now doing courier services. They won’t be doing it if is not rewarding.

When I read in the papers that the honorable minister said government won’t privatize NIPOST and had no plans of handing it over to foreigners, I was lost. He even said he hopes to make NIPOST provide rural telephony services. Really? Did MTEL succeed, where MTN and GLO succeeded? He wants to commercialize NIPOST’s fleet of vehicles in his reform. Interesting! Are we planning to float another mass transit company? Surprisingly, the minister intends to incorporate a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model to some aspects of his reform in NIPOST. I am waiting to see how a PPP model would work in an inefficient and irredeemable civil service ‘establishment’.

I started admiring Barrister Adebayo Shittu after his Senate screening. He gave honest answers in his confirmation – answers that were not necessarily politically correct. That was good. He is not a fair-weather politician – he has been with Buhari for ages. I believe he is a gentle man, thus, he should let Nigerians debate his plans. Besides, I would like to ask if he is still using BPE’s report.

Dr Nwankwo lives in Benin City