Finally arrived in Nigeria after a +24 hour trip with Turkish Airlines. It took ~ 10 hours to get from Newark Liberty International airport to Istanbul airport. A 7 hour layover in Istanbul and a 7 hour flight from Istanbul airport to Murtala Muhammed International airport in Lagos, Nigeria. Overall, The experience was hectic but manageable.
The first impression in Nigeria was mixed. The immigration stand was quite professional and there were flyers at the stand specifying that extortion is not condoned by the airport. The airport and baggage claim facility was subpar and in need of immediate repairs/renovations . It is the worst facility that I have seen and does not provide a good first impression for the country. I wonder if the upkeep of the facility is handled by a government agency or is contracted to a private or public company. Either way, something needs to be done. The custom officials requested a gift after taking a look at the bags and the gentleman in charge of making sure folks are indeed walking out of baggage claim with the right bags also requested a gift after concluding his check.
I understand that there are different perspectives about whether a gift in this instance is appropriate. Is it truly a gift or a bribe? I am conflicted on the issue. It is certainly a bribe but there are factors to consider. On one hand, it is disappointing that there is a pervasive culture of requesting “gifts” or bribes. On the other hand, I am aware of the poverty landscape here in Nigeria. There is significant unemployment (33% in 2021 according to Bloomberg) and an even bigger issue of underemployment. The average working professional does not earn enough to take care of their reasonable expenses. I suppose some of these people are using these “gifts” to supplement their income to make ends meets.
Another change I observed is that the restaurants are billing food by the serving spoonful. When I was growing up in the country about 2 decades ago, you would go to the restaurant and let them know you would like to buy X amount of food. In some cases, the food may have already been pre-portioned into specific price points. Nowadays, each item is a la carte with specific prices for each spoonful. Do you want a spoonful of sauce with the rice you just ordered? That would cost you an additional 500 Naira. Inflation has certainly taken its toll.
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What are your thoughts?
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