“This building does not look like a functional government office. It’s unbelievable that a federal government revenue-generating station would be in this concerning state for almost a year, but I want to believe it would not take the relevant authorities a long time to repair it.”

These were the words of Ganiyu Sikiru, a resident of Iwo, Osun State, in June 2022. He lamented the sorry state of a post office in his town.

Federal government workers attached to the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), Iwo, Osun State, closed for business on June 9, 2022, hoping to resume work the following day as usual. But the harmless danger, which had been in front of their office for years, had been let loose by nature before they got to their office on Friday, June 10.

It was a thick branch of a robust tree providing cool breeze and shed for retailers that had been felled by a strong wave that accompanied a rainstorm in the wee hours of the day. The tree was about 6 metres away from the post office building. The affected part fell on the post office’s roof, enabling rain to destroy important documents in the building.

NIPOST is a public postal service agency headed by a Postmaster General, who is answerable to the Federal Minister of Communication and Digital Economy.

HELPLESS WORKERS

When Sikiru went to the facility on March 31, the condition of the building convinced him that his belief of nine months earlier was wrong. The government had not taken any visible action to restore the building to its previous state.

A worker in the facility explained that their work stability had not been the same since the building was damaged.

“We cannot take any decision with respect to the repairs on our own. We are helpless. The government has been informed, and some representatives at the state office and federal level have visited here on separate occasions to inspect the level of the destruction. We’re hopeful,” the staffer said.

According to the staffer, who want their identity undisclosed, some community leaders also attempted to help repair the building but failed.

“Some also expressed their desire to help repair the building at some point, but we have not heard anything from them since that time,” the staffer said.

“We are now being selective on what parcels to accept for shipment. If we know that we will not be able to dispatch a parcel in 24 hours, we simply ask the customer to come back. We resorted to this method to prevent rain from destroying customers’ items in our custody.

“You need to see how this office looks like any day rain falls, you will feel sad.”

RESIDENTS RAISE QUESTIONS

A resident who simply identified herself as Mariam told this reporter during a visit to the facility in February that she was interested in seeing the government repair the building soon because it was a national facility. According to her, the longer the government’s inaction on it, the more the damage becomes.

“The building is a mark of the federal government’s presence in the community. Iwo, Ayedire and Ola-Oluwa local government areas rely on this single office to send and receive documents. Will the government say they are not aware of the dilapidation? I don’t think so. So, it is very important for the government to repair it as soon as possible,” Mariam said.

A source in the Oluwo palace, who asked not to be named, explained to FIJ that workers at the post office once told him they were unhappy about the condition of the building. “They appealed to the community to come to their rescue,” he said.

“The building generates revenues to the government. People send and receive mail from different destinations via the office. The last package I shipped out of the country through them cost me N200,000. So, I can say it is playing an important role in the community, but it is sad that the government seems to have abandoned it.”

The national headquarters of NIPOST, headed by Postmaster General Adepoju Adeyemi Sunday, did not respond to FIJ’s text and email sent for comments.