It started with galore of scoldings for
Miss Josephine Agwu, a mere airport
cleaner who found forgotten $28,000
and other foreign currencies totaling
about N12m and refunded it to the
owner. Some called her dumb-ass,
others referred to her as silly,
especially as the owner of the money
showed how not to appreciate
goodness.
She became a subject of mockery, both
for people present at the airport who
heard of it, and notably on some social
media platforms. But Miss Agwu held
herself with satisfaction that she did
the right thing. Now, her saintly
gesture is being appreciated.
Recognition and appreciation
The Lagos State House of Assembly,
last Monday, concluded plans to invite
and honour her. And her employers
have increased her salary from a
paltry N7,800 to N15,000 per month.
And in her words, “FAAN (Federal
Airports Authority of Nigeria) said that
they are going to give me automatic
employment, but I have not heard
from them till now.”
And she added: “On the part of my
management, they are happy, all my
supervisors. In short, they are doing
good things for me. Now, they carry
me like egg, even my MD.”
Miss Agwu, a cleaner with Patovilki, a
concessionaire handling the cleaning
of the Murtala Mohammed
International Airport, Ikeja Lagos,
found the N12m while cleaning a
toilet near the screening point of the
departure area of the airport, and took
it to the security post.
The owner later came and the security
returned the money to the owner and
disclosed how Miss Agwu found the
money and brought it to them. After
counting the money and it was
complete the owner simply looked at
Agwu and walked away. This was the
third time she was returning lost bags
containing huge sums of money.
For a cleaner who earns N7,800
monthly for a 12-hour day job, her act
of integrity shocked many. The Lagos
State House of Assembly which just
returned from recess has requested the
Clerk of the House, Mr Segun Abiru, to
invite Miss Agwu to the House. Deputy
Whip of the House, Honourable Abiru
Rotimi Abiru, had under Matter of
Urgent Public Importance, raised the
issue which happened on January 23,
2015, calling the attention of his
colleagues to the fact that Miss Agwu
was returning lost money for the third
time.
Company policy
The management of Patovilki, Miss
Ugwu’s employers, played a major role
in influencing her action. The
company has an in-house policy to
guide every of their employee working
at the airport. In an interview with
Saturday Vanguard, Mrs. Eunice
Anumudu, Manager, Airport Zone,
said: “Since the incident, people have
been reacting to it and they have been
praising her for what she has done,
and that she did well and several
people have been calling her.”
According to Mrs. Anumudu, “My own
impression as a manager is that she
did well because that is what we told
them at the initial time that she was
searching for the job. We told her that
as you are looking for this job, the
salary is too small. Can you do the
work? She said ‘yes’, so we told her
that anywhere we put you, you have to
behave well because this is an airport.
We have many ogas here, you don’t
know who is who. If they ask you
question that you cannot answer, you
look for the supervisor or the manager
to answer the question.”
Mrs. Anumudu continued: “Wherever
we post you and anything that you see
there, don’t take it home. Take it to the
security because that thing does not
belong to us. It is the passenger that
has it. You know, some of the
passengers, when they travel, some of
them will leave their bags and
sometimes phones in the toilet.
“So, we told them to behave well,
respect everybody. Since this incident
happened, she has not been promoted
to a supervisor or other higher
position, but we contacted our
Managing Director and what she did
was to increase her salary. The MD
was happy about what Miss Josphine
Ugwu. She has agreed to increase her
salary from N7,800 to N15,000.”
Certainly, not every of the employee so
briefed would have returned the
money, which also portrays Miss Ugwu
as an exceptional person.
Sense of fulfillment
Speaking also with Saturday
Vanguard, the beautiful lady,
Josephine Ugwu, who has been
catapulted to limelight, relived the
experience that day: “I am from Enugu
State, from Obonkpa in Nsukka Local
Government. I live at Agbotukunyo in
Agege. The incident happened on the
23rd of January 2015. I was on
morning duty. So as I was sweeping
around 6:30pm, I saw the bag on the
ground and there were some
passengers there so I thought that the
bag could belong to one of them. But
as I closed at 7:20pm, the person to
relieve me on duty came that time.”
“I was going to the toilet again, I saw
the same bag there. Then I told the
passengers sitting there that they
should be mindful of the bag because
once they announce the flight they
may forget it. They replied that the bag
did not belong to them. Three of the
passengers left, so I then picked the
bag and took it to the FAAN security
people. At first, they put the bag on the
screening machine, before they
opened the bag and discovered that
there were many envelops in the bag
containing money in different
currencies including dollars.”
“As they were counting it, I saw an
NDLEA woman accompanied by one
man and both of them were coming
towards us. They said that the man
could be the owner of the bag. So
when they came in, they interviewed
the man and the man mentioned the
amount of money and the colour of the
bag. Before then, they had counted the
money and it was exactly the amount
that the man said.”
“Then they carried the money and
gave to the man for him to count.
After counting, they asked him if the
money was complete, he said yes and
they snapped him picture. They asked
him again about three times and they
told the man that, ‘look at the woman
that picked your bag’, and the man
was looking at me. His name is Mr.
Obinna Samuel. They told him that he
should thank his God that if it were
another person, that person would
have run away with the bag but this
woman didn’t do that. So I left and the
man took the money and put inside
the bag and went away.”
“Then FAAN security personnel called
me back, and they took my number
On-Duty-Card (ODC) and my name.
That was how it happened. People are
praising me, FAAN said that they are
going to give me automatic
employment but I have not heard
from them till now.”
Miss Ugwu is aware of how she is
being viewed by some Nigerians. She
was reported to have advised: “People
should appreci ate what they have.
People do a lot of bad things because
they are not happy with what they
have. With the little I earn, I try to
manage it well. If I can’t manage that
small money that I earn, even if I
begin to earn N1 million, I will still
not know how to manage it.
“So, I am telling every Nige rian to be
happy in any situation they find
themselves. Don’t be faster than your
shadow because so many things will
go wrong. Sometimes things get bad
because people want to be like others.
All fin gers are not equal. It is true
that God promised those who serve
him riches, but people should be
careful how they go about it. I am
telling people to have pa tience. It is
because people want quick money that
is why some people become thieves.
She concludes: “On the part of my
management, in fact they are happy,
all my supervisors. In short they are
doing good things for me, even they
are carrying me like egg, even my MD.
They have added money to my salary.
In short, my manager, Madam Eunice
has been doing many things for me
since the incident, praising me. She
said that she knows that she can trust
me, and that I cannot see anything that
does not belong to me and I take it
away.”
No comments:
Post a Comment