The level of corruption by government officials in Nigeria appear not to be abating,even under the ‘Change general’,President Muhammadu Buhari, known for his zero tolerance to corrupt practices.
Although corruption is in every sector of economy and runs deep in the veins of the people,the activities of workers at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport is a shame and scandal that the government should do something urgent about.
Below is a distasteful account by an entertainment impresario, Ayo Shonaiya, as he experienced built-in corruption at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport parking lot.
Hear him, “ I saw something last night at the Parking Lot of the Muritala Muhammad Airport in Lagos. Queue so long it took me 1 hour and 12 minutes… to PAY! Yes folks, I spent over an hour on the line to pay for 2 hours parking, and I was asked to pay for the time I was on the line!
“At first, I was angry at the thought of standing for so long in a queue, then I realised as I got close to the paying window, when I saw just one Cashier there, sluggishly and taking so long to collect your money and put your ticket in and out of the machine. Then it hit me. This shit is intentional.
“Just imagine. The peak time for flights arrivals at Lagos International Airport is around 7pm to 9pm (maybe from even 6pm when BA lands from London), so there is a massive surge of people parked and exiting the Lot between these times. Putting just one slow-paced worker at the Till creates a line so long, that by the time they get to pay, and another hour or so has been added to the parking fee. That is like another N100 (or more) per hour for the operators of the Parking Lot.
“In addition, of course, you know there will be confusion and fighting on the line (that is in our blood anyway), it adds to the already slow process, so it adds to the time, and more money to be made for the Operators.
The parking at the Airport used to be a standard flat fee, and then later they changed it to First Hour at N200, and additional N100 every hour after. The FRAUD is creating some kind of delay to keep people in the Parking Lot for that extra hour.
“I hope the Authorities take note of this and do something about it. But then again, maybe the “Authorities” created the fraud and are profiting from it, so go figure. Nigeria we hail thee. #CorruptionContinuesDespiteChange.”
MMIA is the first point of call of foreigners to the country.