MORI BABA LED NIPOST,
CORPORATE VISION AND FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT BACKING
By Emeka Oraetoka <limpidresources@yahoo.co.uk>
Beware of stepping into a great
man’s shoes-you will have to accomplish twice as much to surpass
him. Those who follow are taken for imitators. No mater how they
sweat, they will never shed that burden. It is an uncommon skill
to find a new path for excellence, a modern route to celebrity.
There are many roads to singularity, not all of them well
traveled, but they are often shortcuts to greatness [Battasar
Gracian]. The corporate vision of Mallam Mori Baba led NIPOST
appears to be in perfect harmony with this Baltasar Gracian’s
admonition to any successor to a great leader.
To the new helmsman in NIPOST, Mallam
Mori Baba, contemplating of stepping into the big shoes of latte
Mallam Abubakar Musa Argungu could be tantamount to chasing the
wind. While acknowledging the great strides made my his boss in
NIPOST when he was alive in an interview he granted in the current
The Post News, Baba made a frank comparison between his
late boss NIPOST and himself and concluded that circumstances made
“leadership style deferential” imperative. This question was put
before Baba in the interview in question: Sir, you have actually
answered the question but as a rider, we knew that during the
acting period of the late Alhaji Argrugu, he was always saying
that he was in a hurry to put a lot of things in place and fturn
the origination around and that translated into the laudable
achievements recorded during his tenure which received both
national and international commendations. Would you say that you
too are in a hurry?
The P.M.G’S response to the above
question in part, probably explained his choice by the appointing
authorities as Acting Postmaster General of NIPOST upon the demise
of his Oga, in the first place; for the response tactically
illuminated his complementary efforts under Argungu. It
also projected a clear vision of continuity in leadership, and
obvious but a bold attempt at taking NIPOST to the next level.
Above all, he appreciated the great effort of his late boss, which
he agreed, has made his own job less tasking. This is how he
responded to the question: Really, you must understand that the
circumstances are not the same, so I wouldn’t say that I am in
hurry. You will recall that when he came on board, as Acting
Postmaster General, one wouldn’t say that we had a postal system
because everything was completely grounded and that perhaps,
necessitated his being in a hurry to put things in order. He
actually worked hard to bring back the confidence of people and in
doing that was to deliver the services that the people want and
meet all the goals that had been set for the post as the national
carrier.
For me, I would say that I am quite
lucky that a number of things have been put in place, the National
Mail Route Network and a host of other things were things that the
late postmaster general worked very hard to put in place while in
acting capacity. Quite frankly, he left solid foundation behind
and that is very important for us to continue from where he
stopped. What we are lacking now and what everybody is saying is
that we put structure on the solid foundation and that is not what
you can just stretch out your hand and get. But certainly that is
what will occupy my attention. Right now, I intend to give
priority to some of those things that will enable the organization
to move forward progressively by putting things right and in doing
that, you have to look at so many things, like what government can
do for you in terms of giving you the backing, and not necessarily
the funding. You also have to look at what the system can give. I
have to stop at this and if there is need I will expatiate on
that.
A critical dissection of Mori Baba’s
policy response to the question thrown at him by his interviewer[s]
shows that his preoccupation is consolidation on the gains of
reform in NIPOST. One-way of achieving this consolidation is to
seek total government Backing for NIPOST. Watchers of NIPOST have
reasoned that since the sought backing is not necessarily in terms
of funding, the reformist regime of President Olusegun Obasanjo
may obliged the request in line with government pledge of acting
as environment enabler. This writer is aware that the recent stamp
Duty Act is capable of putting NIPOST in good position
financially. To this end, government backing in this area could
come in the form of policy statement from federal government in
this regard. Government agencies saddled in one-way or the other
with the responsibility of ensuring the enforcement/compliance
with this Stamp Duty Act are expected to coordinate towards
ensuring its success.
Government backing could also come in
from of policy statements from relevant agencies, recognizing the
holder of current Post Office Number in transactions that required
identification. This will increase the acquisition of post office
boxes by Nigerians. In the end, the revenue base of NIPOST would
have increased. For instance, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
can issue directive to banks in the country that any body wishing
to open account could be asked to produces either evidence of
current Post Office Number, in addition to other documentations.
There is no doubt that the interest of people in patronizing
NIPOST will be rekindled through this avenue.
These and many more are probably the
areas that NIPOST may need government backing, for the purpose of
generating the needed funds to take the organization to the next
level.
Emeka Oraetoka
Information Management Consultant
Abuja. e-mail:oramekllis@lycos.com
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