As in almost every sphere of human endeavor, there are those that play behind the scene and try to circumvent laid down rules and processes. Such is the case with the Nigeria postal and courier industry where the operations of quacks have continuously undermined the prospects of the sector.
Illegal courier operators are those people who without licenses are operating the courier business whereas there are others who may have acquired the license in the first place but over time may find it unnecessary or difficult to renew their licenses.
In the latter case, instead of the promoters of the business trying their hands out on some other things, they still stick to the courier business having acquired the start up license. But this is practically wrong as it negates the regulatory procedure for operating a courier business.
Taken that the industry is lucrative thereby attracting the interest of businessmen to the sector, but the point should be made that every interested investor should follow the proper channel.
A development whereby people operate courier in the booths of their vehicles or in ramshackle offices to say the least is belittling the business.
The mailing industry provides a vital infrastructure upon which businesses depend for critical communication and distribution services and looking at the class of companies and clients that patronize the sector, courier business is a serious business that needs only professionals to operate. Simply put, courier is the movement of time sensitive document from point of origin to the destination point. This to a layman is just a simple exercise that does not need much expertise or special training. The point remains that even as easy as the business seems loss of a special document or its late arrival may throw up a lot of challenges that may turn out to be irredeemable. It takes one who knows the value and importance of documents and their timely delivery to be a courier person.
Illegal courier operators have in recent times devised several other ways of carrying out their operations as the Courier Regulatory Department (CRD) of NIPOST has declared zero tolerance for their activities. The department has severally launched offensive on fake operators arresting some of the promoters and closing their shops.
Offenders are meant to pay a penalty of fifty thousand naira and be made to apply for license if the person shows interest of continuing in the business. The fifty thousand naira penalty is a far cry from the gains these illegal operators make and can never serve as deterrence to the illegal business. The Courier Regulatory Department should as a matter of urgency review this paltry fee with more stringent measure weighty enough to dissuade quacks from infiltrating the courier business.