Nigerians are so good: another airport worker rewarded for returning missing valuables

A month after a Nigerian security guard made headlines for returning a bag full of money and valuables, the Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has also rewarded a cleaner who returned some valuables she found in the airport toilet.

Working for a private cleaning contractor at the Abuja airport, Mary Ishai returned cash, passports, ATM cards and other valuables to the authorities, and in return, she was awarded a commendation letter and plaque for her sincerity.

“She found the following valuable items in the toilet: $2,000, $140 Canadian, eight pieces of coins, N21,850, two international passports, four ATM cards, four bus cards and baggage claim tags. The owner, an employee of Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Imade Uhunwagho, has since collected his valuables,” the aviation authority said in a tweet.

A month ago, Achi Daniel, a junior security guard at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos also returned a bag filled with cash, jewellery and other valuables. His honesty brought him honour and commendation from the president Muhammadu Buhari after he was called “stupid”.

“Inside the bag, I saw a mobile phone, jewellery and a huge amount of dollars, as well as several other documents. At that point, we went straight to the manager’s office, who then put a call through to somebody in Atlanta, Georgia, who happened to be the daughter of the owner of the bag,” he told the media.

“No amount of money would make me take what doesn’t belong to me. I believe my own time will come and at the right time … It never crossed my mind to steal the money and I wouldn’t have done that because it wasn’t my first time of finding such and returning to the owners,” he said at a ceremony to honour him and his supervisors.

The Managing Director of FAAN, Saleh Dunoma also said: “Some others may look at you and tag you stupid; I want to assure you that by virtue of this act, you have secured seats for yourselves in the comity of those with credibility and integrity. I hereby want to advise other staff to emulate this great virtue and become role models just like these two.”

Nigerians have been stereotyped as having dubious tendencies which these two honest workers have proved wrong.