WHAT ATTITUDE OF POSTAL OPERATORS VIS-À-VIS POLITICS? Ibrahim Mori Baba Postmaster General/CEO Nigerian Postal Service

Outline Introduction Definition Historical perspective Competition Roles: Politics, Regulator, Operator The Nigerian example What Attitude? Conclusion

INTRODUCTION Complex relationship between politics and postal operators Different for Developing Countries and Industrialized Countries Focus on attitude of postal operators in DCs

AFRICA

Definition of attitude “A person’s perspective towards a specified target and way of saying and doing things” - Wikipedia By this definition, postal operators perspective vis-a-vis politics should be geared towards contributing to the attainment of government objectives of economic and social development of the people.

Historical Perspective of Postal Operators Postal Service globally has been a strong political institution from time immemorial. It was the official courier of the Royal families carrying messages from one kingdom to the other. Postage Stamps became campaign and publicity tools depicting pictures of the Royalty and their activities.

Historical.... Postmasters General across the globe have been very prominent political office holders representing government in distinguished capacities. Post Offices are strong symbols of political presence of governments. Citing them is therefore based on political considerations.

The Universal Postal Union The Universal Postal Union, an agency of the United Nations is purely an inter- governmental institution. Thus, Politics pervaded postal operations through most of its history.

Competition In the seventies came private sector operators such as Federal Express, DHL and United Parcel Service (UPS), promising faster, more efficient service, aggressively competing with the Public Postal operators. Position of universal service provider is also weakened by new electronic media

SPLITTING UP ROLES Complex relationship in postal sector requires a transparent structure with clear roles and responsibilities:  Government – Politics – Policy Maker  Independent Regulator  Designated Postal Operator

POLITICS Politics and governance has priority areas: electricity/power, health care, education, physical infrastructure etc. Postal sector is not glamorous and profitable Postal operators therefore have to clearly show their impact on political and economic development.

Regulator Intermediary between postal operator and politics Monitors enforcement of policy objectives and legislation Promotes strengthening of postal sector based on market realities.

POSTAL OPERATORS Postal operators are influenced by politics either through ownership, regulation or both. Attitude of public operators differ a lot from those of private operators vis-a-vis politics Entrants of private players operating across political borders not longer dependent on the requirements of one country brought about the concept of globalization.

Level of political involvement The level of involvement of postal operators in politics is therefore based on the political system of a particular country as well as its socio-economic policies. Thus in liberalized western countries postal operations are more deregulated while political control is prevalent in less developed countries.

NIGERIA

The Nigerian Example In Nigeria like in many other countries the public postal operator is still controlled by the political machinery and run purely as a civil service organization. The operator also doubles as the regulator of private operators (currently over 300 registered).

What Attitude? The right attitude is for postal operators to focus on running operations purely on business ethics, continuously evolving new markets and embracing new techniques without losing sight of their economic and socio-political responsibilities.

Conclusion In the dynamic business environment of today, postal operators have to be innovative to be profitable. Being mostly public institutions their attitude vis-a-vis politics should be to operate within the framework of postal sector policies that support national development.

With the right attitude... the sky is the beginning for the Postal Operator. THANK YOU