Unruly Nigerian Travelers at JFK Airport

By Phil Tam-Al Alalibo

I arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York at 8:30 a.m. to board a 1:30 p.m. scheduled flight to Nigeria. I went earlier than the 9 a.m. check-in time in light of the expected heavy holiday traveling and well aware that when Nigerians finally wake up from their slumber and lumber their way to the airport with their worldly possessions packed in big and countless suitcases, the nightmare would begin. Arriving at the check-in counter, I saw a white gentleman waiting patiently for the check-in time. He had coffee in one hand and the New York Times in the other. At the stroke of 9 a.m., there was only hand full of us as most of the would-be Nigerian passengers were still in bed or milling around New York City in preparation for their trip when they should have been at the airport. After check-in which lasted about twenty minutes, I had plenty of time to surf the Internet while waiting for the boarding time. I decided to wait around the immediate vicinity of the check-in counter with free wireless Internet access to my laptop as the impestus.

At about 12 noon, Nigerians started arriving in their numbers for a flight that was to depart at 1:30 p.m., imagine this. Being an international flight, we were advised to arrive at least three hours before departure time. But Nigerians were not to be bothered and I dare say that this ignoble posture is the bane of our problems. Most, as predicted came with all their worldly possessions falling all over the place inconveniencing other passengers in a parked airport with no space to spare as they tried to stabalize them on a trolley or some kind of cart, it was indeed a pitiable sight.

One particularly gentleman had a small U-Haul trailer hitched to the car that brought him to the airport. I watched in consternation as he pulled out more than ten suitcases from the trailer and piled them all on two carts. From all indications, it appeared he was the only one traveling. What could he be doing with that many suitcases? Not surprising, the line was dis-organized as Nigerians tried to out-muscle one another. Tempers flared and patience was in very short supply (if supplied at all) as Nigerians grew eager and desperate. The immediate vicinity of the check-in area looked like a complete war-zone replete with gory chaotic Lagos scenes that added aplenty to the already mounting stress of traveling. In the midst of the chaos, insults and abuses were exchanged freely with no restrains or succor as one middle-aged lady completely undressed another with her tongue giving us all a free show of contumely. After a spiteful head to toe visual inspection characteristic of a true Nigerian woman, one of the ladies assuminmg a war-like posture immediately upped the antes and went on the (verbal) attack - Their acrimonious exchange went along these ugly lines;

“So you are traveling to Nigeria with that cheap lace sworn by a road-side tailor?”

“You have no shame," the other woman returned without sparing a moment, "at least, I have lace, the one on your waist looks like Okrika”, a reference to second-hand clothing called “Okrika Wakeup” in eras gone. I prayed that no one was from Okrika (Rivers) amongst the Nigerian travelers as that would have meant an additional foray for insulting a whole group of people without provocation. Infuriated, the other lady sliced back at her tormentor with caliberated precision.

“Look at this small rat insulting me,” she said with much despise. “If we were in Nigeria she would not be fit to be my house girl. Somebody bought a ticket for her to come to America and she can now insult me.”

The other lady undettered, returned the salvo, “So you are now Madam America to decide who should come to America ? A witch like you will have a house girl? Which parent will allow her daughter to come to your house? I beg comot for road jaw…”

“You called me a witch in front of these people? (She said it in a manner that suggested she would have been satisfied if she had been called a witch in private). Wait until we get to Nigeria and we shall know who is a witch,” retorted the other angrily with a hiss louder than the sounds of a passing plane.

By now they were garnering attention and for fear of security agents swooping in on them for unruly behavior, a charge that might lead to the discovery of other illegalities such as lack of proper legal papers, etc, decorum reigned even tenuously as both warring parties encased their swords with a seemingly unspoken agreement to rekindle their hostilities once in Nigeria which will be a perfect theater for such recklessness. But at the counter, decorum had been set aside as I heard another set of Nigerians arguing very loudly with the counter attendants; had they used a bullhorn they would not be any louder. It appeared that every point was contested, every suggestion rebuffed and every refusal by the airline staff cast in racist light.

Even the obvious was debated and argued to no shameful end as the Nigerian passengers basked in an ugly spat of babarism.  Of particular interest was a gentleman whose bags were over the weight limit, arguing veraciously with the attendant that they were within the 70-pound limitation. When they were weighted again, the least weight was 92 pounds, 22 pounds over the limit. In a bid to embarass him, the attendant "announced" this information to our hearing.  Even his hand luggage weighed 32 pounds when the limit was 10 pounds. With overwhelming evidence that convinced everyone else, he continued to argue until security was called to haul him aside to allow others to check-in. I saw him in a corner with his suitcases trying to rearrange the contents after he lost the battle with the attendant. I was curious and went to sit next to him watching as he tried the impossible. In one of the suitcases, I saw what was tantamount to Wal-Mart - toaster, mouthwash, hotplates, stereo, radios, speakers, cloths, dry fish (from US to Nigeria? For what?), laundry soap, picture frames, cordless phones, etc. All these were in one suitcase leaving one to wonder what could be in the others – perhaps, his house and car?

It was 1:30 p.m., the set departure time for the flight (although an announcement had been made advising that the flight will be delayed for about an hour and half) and the line was getting longer. The intrigue here was the fact that the arriving Nigerians were not aware that the flight had been delayed and without this knowledge they arrived at the original departure time printed on their tickets. As they arrived, they did so with Mt. Kilimanjaro in front of them, which meant more time was needed for baggage screening and security checks. This was very disgraceful as the airline staff shook their heads in amazement, almost in disgust of the uncultivated behavior of Nigerians . But perhaps, even more perturbing was the fact that the Nigerian passengers expected to be checked-in as though they had arrived on time. They saw nothing wrong with arriving at 1:30 p.m., the original departure time for the flight.

On a closer look at the line, I saw a young white couple with very little luggage, indeed, only two small bags. Yet again, my curiosity got the best of me and I approached them. I asked how long they intended to stay in Nigeria? They indicated that the lady's parents were Baptist missionaries in Owerri and they were going on a visit for about a month and half traveling through Nigeria and West Africa . It is noteworthy that most Nigerians going home for a visit do not spend a month and half. The average time is about three weeks, yet, all of those in line had well over the luggage limit of two bags towering all over the place as if they expected America to not to be there upon their return.

Is this a microscopic evidence of the larger problem of greed and avarice that have ravished our nation and earned it the most corrupt country in the world year after year? Why do Nigerians feel the need to travel with the world in their suitcases? I was told of a young Nigerian gentleman of great scholarly reputation who traveled to the US from Nigeria with only a small suitcase. Rather than heaping praises on him for traveling light, a feat rarely seen amongst Nigerians,  the US Immigration and Custom Services interrogated him suspecting a foul motive for his trip. All this was based on his arrival with a small single suitcase for a three-week working visit. Satisfied that he was a visitor with noble intentions with no criminal past, they joked with him that if more Nigerians traveled the way he did, their jobs would be made easier.

Just as the counter concluded the luggage check-in for the flight and was about to announce the precise boarding time, a lady, almost breathless, well wrapped in Nigerian attired with a headgear as high (if not higher) as the control tower of the airport rushed in with two small children in tow and a gentleman who was laboring under the weight of several well-stuffed bags. She bulldozed her way to the now sparsely populated counter and had the following words with the white attendant;

“Please, I am here for this flight,” she said breathing uncontrollably and holding unto the counter for support.

“Which flight”, asked the attendant whose face bore elements of surprise. But how could she be surprised, she must have been used to this sort of tardiness by Nigerians. As the lady struggled to retrieve her ticket from her handbag to confirm the flight, the attendant declared that all bags had already been checked-in and no more check-ins would be conducted. Were the flight not delayed, this lady would have met an empty check-in counter.

“Please, I must fly today, “ pleaded the desperate Nigerian whose lateness bore ample evidence of the loathsome burden of a nation. The attendant looked at her watch as if to say, ‘why didn’t you arrive on time?’

“I am sorry, but we have to check you in on the next flight, assuming we have seats for you and the small passengers,” the attendant said politely but with a measure of finality that sealed the fate of the latecomer.

“No, I must join this flight to meet an occasion in Lagos ," the desperate Nigerian pleaded as she looked around in search of support for her plight. Finding none among the other passengers, she fell on her knees in the true Nigerian fashion and continued pleading to bemusement of all. I looked at my watch and it was 2:41 p.m. All of the passengers had either left or were leaving for the boarding gate, but for this tardy Nigerian kneeing on the floor in front of a white lady in her Sunday's best.

If only Nigerians can learn to be on time...

______________________________________

 The author can be reached at alalibo@gmail.com

Robot  Villager

# 1 U...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 17.01.2007 19:00

MsWoman  Villager

# 2 Hmmm Uncle Phil you try with this gist oh! Na so-so exaggeration from beginning to end, but it was a very nice and funny read all the same. Posted by MsWoman| 17.01.2007 19:40

Exxcuzme  Villager

# 3 _______________________________________________________________________ At the stroke of 9 a.m., there was only hand full of us as most of the would-be Nigerian passengers were still in bed or milling around New York City in preparation for their trip when they should have been at the airport. _______________________________________________________________________ At bed ke, if it were my wife and her friends, they are still busy shopping the morning of the flight after shopping the night before till the stores closed. Dont mind MsWoman, I have never seen a Nigerian woman without excess luggage to and back from Nigeria. Imagine briging the traditional wooden Mortar and Pistle (I think that is what ODO is called in Oyinbo) for pounded yam from Nigeria or bringing the noisy commercial blender used in Nigeria to t he good old US and A when Oyinbo already developed a small portable and less noisy blenders? With the countless family and friends that would want a piece of you in Naija, it is very difficult for, especially, women to resist from trying to buy the whole WalMart to Nigeria. Posted by Exxcuzme| 17.01.2007 20:12

I Love Nigeria  Villager

# 4 I wish that a foreigner had written this article... I would have written a rejoinder! castigating the written as a basher of Nigerians. So much violence to language and generalizations about ALL Nigerians Dr. Phil apparently is shy of the use of the word SOME? MsWoman expressed some of what I felt..when she wrote :Na so-so exaggeration from beginning to end Writer's license? Arriving at the check-in counter, I saw a white gentleman waiting patiently for the check-in time. Says Dr. Phil...(ILN asks...gentleman waiting patiently abi)? At the stroke of 9 a.m., there was only hand full of us as most of the would-be Nigerian passengers were still in bed or milling around New York City in preparation for their trip when they should have been at the airport After a spiteful head to toe visual inspection characteristic of a true Nigerian woman?Says Dr. Phil....(ILN asks.....characteristic of Nigerian women??? What could he be doing with that many suitcases? Not surprising, the line was dis-organized as Nigerians tried to out-muscle one another. It looked like a complete war-zone replete with gory chaotic Lagos scenes that added aplenty to the already mounting stress of traveling. By now they were garnering attention and for fear of security agents swooping in on them for unruly behavior, a charge that might lead to the discovery of other illegality such as lack of proper legal papers, etc, decorum reigned even tenuously with both warring parties encasing their swords. But at the counter, decorum had been set aside as I heard another set of Nigerians arguing very loudly with the counter attendants; had they used as bullhorn they would not be any louder. It appeared that every point was contested, every suggestion rebuffed and every refusal by the airline staff cast in racist light. ILN....asks Dr. Phil...HABA!???? Even the obvious was debated and argued to no shameful end as the Nigerian passengers basked in an uugly spat of babarism. ILN asks Dr. Phil, say WHAT??? In one of the suitcases, I saw what was tantamount to Wal-Mart - toaster, mouthwash, hotplates, stereo, radios, speakers, cloths, dry fish (from US to Nigeria? For what?), laundry soap, picture frames, cordless phones, etc. All these were in one suitcase leaving one to wonder what could be in the others – his house and car? Says Dr. Phil and ILN asks... Have heard of poverty before? These Nigerians travel once a year and they have to bear gift for their poor folks at home... who but of course expect them to bear these gifts.... it is poverty stupid? This was very disgraceful as the airline staff shook their heads in amazement, almost in disgust of the uncultivated behavior of Nigerians . But perhaps, even more perturbing was the fact that the Nigerians passengers expected to be checked-in as though they had arrived on time. They saw nothing wrong with arriving at 1:30 p.m., the original departure time for the flight. On a closer inspection of the line, I saw a young white couple with very little luggage, only two small bags. Yet again, my curiosity got the best of me and I approached them. I asked how long they intended to stay in Nigeria? They indicated that the lady's parents were Baptist missionaries in Owerri and they were going on a visit for about a month and half traveling through Nigeria and West Africa . It is noteworthy that most Nigerians going home do not spend a month and half. The average time is about three weeks, still, all of those in line had well over the luggage limit towering all over the place as if they expected America to not to be there upon their return. Says Dr. Phil, and ILN asks... Have heard of poverty before? These Nigerians travel once a year and they have to bear gift for their poor folks at home... who but of course expect them to bear these gifts.... it is poverty stupid? These Baptist couple may be frequent travelers and they do not have to bear gifts .... or how many poor relatives do these Oyinbo priests have in Nigeria/Africa? “Which flight”, asked the attendant whose face bore elements of surprise. But how could she be surprised, she must have been used to this sort of tardiness by Nigerians Is this a microscopic evidence of the larger problem of greed and avarice that have ravished our nation and earned it the most corrupt country in the world year after year? Why do Nigerians feel the need to travel with the world in their suitcases? I was told of a young Nigerian gentleman of great scholarly reputation who traveled to the US from Nigeria with only one small suitcase. Rather than heaping praises on him for traveling light, a feat rarely seen amongst Nigerians, the US Immigration and Custom Services interrogated him suspecting a foul motive for his trip. All this was based on his arrival with a small single suitcase for a three-week working visit. Satisfied that he was a visitor with noble intentions with no criminal past, they joked with him that if more Nigerians traveled the way he did, their jobs would be made easier. Please, I must fly today, “pleaded the desperate Nigerian whose lateness bore ample evidence of the loathsome burden of a nation. The attendant looked at her watch as if to say, ‘why didn’t you arrive on time.’ “I am sorry, but we have to check you in on the next flight, assuming we have seats for you and the small passengers,” the attendant said politely but with a measure of finality that sealed the fate of the late comer. Finding none among the other passengers, she fell on her knees in the true Nigerian fashion and continued pleading to the bemusement of all. All of the passengers had either left or were leaving for the boarding gate but for this tardy Nigerian kneeing on the floor in her Sunday's best. If only Nigerians can learn to be on time Dr. Phil is a Nigerian... he is ALWAYS on time; I was told of a young Nigerian gentleman of great scholarly reputation who traveled to the US from Nigeria with only one small suitcase ; and ILN is a Nigeria, he is ALWAYS on time... there are SOME Nigerians who are never on time.... So, Nigerians should learn to be on time.... OK, I got that point... But UNRULY Nigerian Travelers? (SOME)? Posted by I Love Nigeria| 17.01.2007 20:16

oloyede  JJC

# 5 __________________________________________________________________________ I Love Nigeria I wish that a foreigner had written this article... I would have written a rejoinder! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I wish that a foreigner had written this article... I would have written a rejoinder! castigating the written as a basher of Nigerians. MsWoman expressed some of what I felt..when she wrote :Na so-so exaggeration from beginning to end __________________________________________________________________________ I agreed with the writer. Remember he didn't said all Nigerian. I don't see anything he said that is unlike Nigerian. If it's true, It's true; Regardless of who said it. Some of us has been here for years but they are still fufu in morning, fufu in the afternoon and fufu in the evening. Never change. Did any one ever ask him/herself why the European airlines treating us the way they do, with all the money they are making of us. It's PRESENTATION - the way we present our self. Imagine their annual profit via Lagos - Europe route. They do not show appreciation in any form. They do not compensate us in any way either thru good service or good/better ticket sales. I have a guy that works with me, he is from China; Recently we were talking about flight Ticket and I told him the cheapest to Nigeria is $1,200.00 during low season. I was shocked when he went to his office and brought a used ticket From Dallas to China to & fro For $650.00. About the same distance or even more. I told him, you will never get Nigeria flight ticket that cheap be it slow or craw season. One thing is certain, some of us need to change. The way we present ourself is very important. Being in the store, airport, church, mosque, work, school or anywhere. E. Oloyede Posted by oloyede| 17.01.2007 22:12

I Love Nigeria  Villager

# 6 According to E. Oloyede Foreign Airlines over-charge Nigerian passengers and mistreat them.... not because they lack competition.... particularly, competition from a strong Nigerian Airline.... NO! The charge us extra for our unruly behaviors? They charge extra because some of us eat fufu four times a day? (E. Oloyede should eat his rattle snake and chili in Texas) But leave the rest of us to eat our Amala, fufu, isi-ewu, pounded-yam several times daily .... while being health-conscious as well.... E. Oloyede you never hear say too many artificial preservatives dey inside Oyinbo food? make you careful O! Posted by I Love Nigeria| 17.01.2007 23:48

el_pharoah  Villager

# 7 I had to go to Gatwick on back to back days last December to drop off my cousins going to nija. On both occasions there was a Nigerian person, albeit a different one each time, arguing loudly and aggressively, shouting at the top of their voices with the counter staff at Virgin Nigeria over overweight bags. Airport security was called each time. It made me wonder if it happened every time Nigerians travel. Posted by el_pharoah| 18.01.2007 07:01

akuluouno  Villager

# 8 Dear Phil, Many thanks for your article which if only written words would change attitudes in Nigeria would have done so but infortunately we also need crude force to change us. I was not surprised that it is only our women who protested your article because they are the guilty ones by far in this infamy. Even among the highest elites in Nigeria the same attitude obtains. When Minister Fani-Kayode said that he would protest the uncivli treamtent of Nigerian travellers by foreign airlines, I laughed all the way and wished him well in his neonationalist tendencies, afterall he is a chip off Fanipower. Let us, especially the elites and the women in particular learn to be a bit serious and learn to display the victorian sentiment of noblesse oblige and decorum at internationally recognised spaces such as airports etc. I know that you were very conservative in your write up, if not I would have liked to bore you with the story of the Nigerian who overfed with amala and guiness b4 boarding an international flight as well as the reasons why we shall never have a Nigeria Airways. Posted by akuluouno| 18.01.2007 08:10

bababoyz  Villager

# 9 Dr Phil is 99.9% correct with this writeup. Below in bold is my response to an aggrieved passenger on a listserve who wrote to complain about the treatment he experienced in Nigeria. Many Nigerians irrespective of our societal status or academic laurels do not like to follow simple instructions. I am sorry about your missed baggage, and I hope you eventually receive it. However, I disagree with the idea of blaming the unruliness of the passengers on the inability of the NAA officials to control a simple commonsense exercise of forming a queue. I have witnessed Nigerians in Paris, @ Heathrow and many other international airports running to board plane just like stranded passengers in Oshodi who are running to board the popularly known Osa straight bus. I flew on a schedule flight of NAA (flight NAA131) from NY ON Dec 14th 2006 to Lagos and returned through flight NAA132 on Jan 04, 2007 to NY, and everything was fine with both legs of my flight. The only annoying part of the flight is the inability of many of us to follow and adhere to simple instructions. It is very understandable that you might not like the allusion of the NAA officials as regards the attitude of Nigerians, but to be candid am not too sure if the NAA officials are not correct when they say Nigerians are unruly and unmanageable. If there is anything about my flight that I need complain about, it is about the primitiveness of many of us who after spending donkey years in a civilized environment still cannot imbibe simple orderliness in a public place. Please do not misconstrue my mail as an effort to justify the lackadaisical attitude of the airline officials or totally exclude them from their responsibilities, but many a time I have wondered if we are not the ones who presented those people the opportunity to mistreat us. ========================================================== Mr. Jeff Wehrenberg > The Chief Operating Officer > North American Airlines > Building 75, Suite 250, North Hangar Road > JFK International Airport > Jamaica NY 11430 > > Dear Sir, > > A VERY BAD FLYING EXPERIENCE – NORTH AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT 132 FROM LAGOS TO NEW YORK JAN 6, 2007 > > On Nov 23, 2006 I bought a round-trip ticket on North American Airlines (NAA) from New York to Lagos for $2,778. In spite of the European route being cheaper I preferred to try your direct flight to Lagos rather than experience the delay involved in flying through Europe. This turned out to be a bad experience – probably the worst in my 17 years of international flying experience. > > The following was my experience. > > Check-in > > As instructed by that check-in for the 1:30 am flight would start 5- hours before the departure, I arrived the Lagos airport at 8 pm to get an early check-in. On arrival I met two low-level personnel of NAA administering a queue – no high ranking officer was present. The personnel instructed me to join the queue and I obeyed, becoming number 12 on the queue. Due to space limitation the queue was forced to loop back with me being at the turning point. As more passengers arrived on the queue the structure started breaking down – at this point NAA agents made no effort to organize the queue. > > At 10 pm, after standing on the queue for two hours, some other NAA officials arrived and started some efforts to commence check-in. About 10:30 pm one of the two low-level personnel came back to announce that the check-in counter had changed and that the people on the queue should follow him. He made no effort to ensure the integrity on positions on the queue, he just made the announcement and turned back towards the new check-in counter. As can be imagined a stampede started with the last passengers on the queue gaining the lead positions (since the queue had looped back). I and most of us that arrived first ended up towards the end of the new queue / queues. From this point on chaos ensued with passengers joining the queue in front and being attended to. The queue I was on was supposed to be the official queue but it ended up not moving for a very long time. Throughout this chaos there was no visible leader from NAA to take charge and put things under control. The only > attempt I witnessed was when two NAA personnel – one Nigerian and a Caucasian – approached the airport security standing close to me to ask for assistance to deploy some policemen to control the crowd. In response, the airport security personnel wondered why it had become an everyday experience that NAA was the only airline at the airport that could not control its passengers and had become notorious at the airport. The security personnel subsequently refused to intervene. > > At a stage, out of my frustration, I approached some NAA officials to express my disappointment and frustration about their inability to manage what looks to me like a very simple operation. The response I got was that Nigerians were unruly and unmanageable. The response I gave them was that this was a lame excuse and that the fault was NAA's. NAA has the responsibility to provide good service to its fee-paying customers from check-in to luggage claim. > > I finally checked in at 1:30 am, after standing up for 5 hours 30 minutes and missing my dinner. The plane finally took-off at about 4:30 am after – a three-hour delay. > > Missing luggage in New York > > We arrived JFK airport New York at 10 am. In an effort not to miss my connecting flight at 12:20 pm, on disembarking the plane, I raced to be the first person at immigration. After immigration I proceeded to await my luggage. After waiting till the very end and not seeing any of my two boxes, I approach an NAA official who produced a list containing my name. She informed me that my luggage did not leave Lagos and that I should go to the NAA counter after customs to fill a missing luggage report. This was now about 11:15 am and I was at the risk on missing my connecting flight. I had to go to the front of the queue and beg other passengers to allow me to go ahead of them in order not to miss my flight. > > I completed the "Property Irregularity Report" as instructed and was told that my luggage would arrive JFK on Monday and would be sent to me "after some time". No guarantee of delivery here. When I asked the agent exactly when I would get my luggage he replied that I could come and collect it at JFK if I wanted it quickly – he did not read my completed form to see that I live in Durham, North Carolina ! > > So here I am back at home in Durham with my luggage still in Lagos. I wonder if NAA would compensate me for any lost item in my luggage or even for the delay. I wonder when my luggage would eventually be delivered to my apartment in Durham. I am waiting and counting the days…… > > Conclusion > > During my visit home I read the comment of the Minister of Aviation – Chief Fani-Kayode in the newspapers complaining about the poor treatment some airlines were meting out on Nigerians. He specifically mentioned Virgin Atlantic and British Airways which in my opinion are not even close to NAA on the "bad treatment" ranking. He should add NAA to his list, which is why I am copying this letter to him. > > As a Nigerian I feel insulted and take serious exception to the comment by the NAA officials in Lagos that Nigerians are unruly and uncontrollable. How come it was only NAA out of over 20 airlines operating that night that had an unmanaged queue? Were the other airlines not serving Nigerians? NAA was just plainly incompetent! > > I would not like to finish this piece without proffering a solution. The following is one of the possible solutions to NAA's crowd control problem in Lagos. > > 1. Appoint an experienced and competent station manager in Lagos and give him/her overall responsibility and accountability for the operations. > 2. Design a check-in queue management system. > - You could make 500 plastic, sequentially numbered tallies with NAA Lagos printed on them. > - On your online booking confirmation and tickets state clearly that check in at Lagos would be based strictly on a tally system and explain how it works. > - State clearly when the check-in/tally distribution queue would commence e.g. 8 pm. As soon as people arrive on the queue give them a tally for the order in which they arrived. > - Let the station manager announce to passengers before and during the check in that the tally order would be strictly followed. > > As I await the arrival of my luggage I hope you will find my feedback useful to improve your services to your customers on this cash cow route. > Posted by bababoyz| 18.01.2007 11:00

EezeeBee  Villager

# 10 = akuluouno>Dear Phil, Many thanks for your article which if only written words would change attitudes in Nigeria would have done so but infortunately we also need crude force to change us. I was not surprised that it is only our women who protested your article because they are the guilty ones by far in this infamy. Even among the highest elites in Nigeria the same attitude obtains. When Minister Fani-Kayode said that he would protest the uncivli treamtent of Nigerian travellers by foreign airlines, I laughed all the way and wished him well in his neonationalist tendencies, afterall he is a chip off Fanipower. Let us, especially the elites and the women in particular learn to be a bit serious and learn to display the victorian sentiment of noblesse oblige and decorum at internationally recognised spaces such as airports etc. I know that you were very conservative in your write up, if not I would have liked to bore you with the story of the Nigerian who overfed with amala and guiness b4 boarding an international flight as well as the reasons why we shall never have a Nigeria Airways. Akuluouno, with your words that I have highlighted above you have displayed the precise problem with Nigeria/Nigerians: There is this belief that sentiments of noblesse oblige and decorum belong to someone else. The Victorians, The British, The West et. al. Are you telling me or suggesting that such sentiments are/were absent from your forefathers/mothers? Or have you so internalized the concepts put out by so many of the books/media we consume that as Nigerians/Africans we neither now nor previously had any positive attributes/behaviors to display? I enjoyed the article very much and see it as a humorous take on travel centered around the behavior of a very small minority of Nigerians. Why? Phil spoke about the behavior of perhaps between 6-10 different people at the counter. Since we know that a typical long distance flight like that contains easily in excess of 180-240 persons, it is safe to say that the MAJORITY of Nigerians on that flight acted with NIGERIAN decorum. One should enjoy the article for it's humor, take lessons away from it, adjust one's own behavior accordingly if required and refrain from painting people with wide brush strokes. Peace! Posted by EezeeBee| 18.01.2007 11:32

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