Nigerian Post Office

Today we went to the post office here in Ikeja for the first time. Sister Evans had us take her over so we would know where it is. It was another interesting "step-back in time" experience. I have never seen a traditional mail truck like we have in the U.S.A. They must make some deliveries, but I don't think residences have the usual mail boxes out front because everyone is behind a big wall. Now I see where businesses go to pick up their mail. The mailboxes are inside the postal compound.
Parking lot for extra, unused delivery vehicles. The picture on the right on top is of one of a multitude of small buildings surrounding a dirt courtyard behind the low, flat, unimpressive Post Office Building, (picture of Post Office entry on the left with Sister Krupp squinting in the sun). Each of the buildings is full of Post Office Boxes. Hundreds and then we realized, thousands of them. The second picture is a "bone-pile" of prehistoric bicycles and moped type scooters that were used at some point to deliver mail. They don't do that anymore that we can see.

The Post Office experience was two sided. Sister Krupp and Sister Evans went to one of the windows to mail their items. I stayed several feet away and observed the whole process. The whole experience was nothing short of bizarre. The postal workers were in protected work spaces behind a chest-high counter, with a heavy plexi-glass screen\window on top of the counter, reaching to about six and a half feet. There were 5-50 cent sized holes in the plexiglass that you were supposed to communicate through, and a narrow slot at the bottom of the plexiglass to slide your item through. The bizarre part was that each work cubicle proudly displayed a nice computer, keyboard and monitor. Not once did we see anyone even touch the computers. Everything was handled on handwritten forms, documents and receipts. There were no cash drawers. When the time came to make change for the two American ladies, the attendant dug in her own purse, asked the neighboring teller and a patron for the correct change.

The picture of a Post Office in New York, about 1910, came to mind as this little drama played out. The "people traffic" inside was a replay of what we experience on the roads every day. There were no lines, no one "waited" their turn. As the two sisters did their business, people came up to either side of them, several times, trying to push their business through the slot where they were already working. Next observation from behind. For some reason there were multiple people taking care of single transactions at many of the windows. One window to the left of Sister Evans and Sister Krupp had a dozen very agitated Nigerians trying to take care of one transaction at the top of their voices, and the Nigerian, behind the window, being just as vocal as those on our side of the glass. Somehow they calmed down and the transaction was being dealt with as we left.

One more observation. I saw every type of clothing imaginable as I waited for the Sisters. Tribal clothing, formal business attire, both men and women, tight pants on girls, women and men. Loose pants on girls, women and men, tight formal dresses, loose, bright colored dresses on women and bright, loose clothing on men some with African hats. It was like a Kaleidescope of color as the customers moved about inside the Post Office. All in all, a very interesting experience. Oh, the smell in there was not something to write home to mother about.