Photo of the Week: Lagos Then and Now – General Post Office Marina

For this edition, Eyes of a Lagos Boy highlights another landmark building on the inner Marina – Odunlami junction, the General Post Office NIPOST, Marina Lagos.

In 1852, the British Colonial Authorities inaugurated the first post office in Lagos, which functioned as a London General Post Office branch until 1874.

The Post Office transitioned into a standalone department in 1862, coinciding with the Royal Niger Company’s establishment of its postal system in various locations between 1887 and 1899.

The British Post Office later expanded its operations by opening post offices in several locations in 1898. Post Offices were established in Epe (Ejirin), Badagry, Ikorodu, Ijebu-Ode, Ibadan and Abeokuta. A weekly mail boat serviced the trading stations and Lagos.

The Royal Niger Company joined the Universal Postal Union in 1892, facilitating direct mail and money order exchanges with German West African Colonies by 1908.

In 1925, mail was transported by Royal Air Force planes from Kano to Cairo for the first time. From January 1, 1900, the Southern Nigeria Government took over the national postal system, employing canoes, launchers, and runners for mail delivery due to inadequate road infrastructure.