Airports Plagued by Widespread Solicitation and Coercion as Travelers Face Relentless Demands for Handouts

Arriving at a Nigerian airport is a far cry from the ideal traveller's experience, where one can walk through the terminal without being approached by unsolicited helpers or stopped by individuals demanding declarations.

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The reality is that touting, begging, and subtle forms of extortion are rampant at most of the country's airports, leaving a negative first impression on visitors, including international travellers like American travel vlogger Tommy El Forastero, also known as Sabbatical Tommy.

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Tommy, who visited Nigeria for the first time in 2021, lamented that personnel at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos demanded money at different points, prompting him to describe the airport as "extremely corrupt" to his over 500,000 followers.

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In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Tommy shared his encounters with individuals at the facility, stating, "I have been around the world and I have never seen anything like this, I mean, it is extremely corrupt, picture corruption, the Nigerian airport, the Lagos airport, is that very definition of corruption that would pop up in a dictionary, literally everywhere."

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Four years after Tommy's visit, many travellers claim that little has changed, with harassment and corruption remaining top complaints among arriving passengers, as observed by this reporter during a visit to the international wing of the MMIA in Lagos on the evening of March 26, 2025.

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A fair-complexioned young man, who had just arrived from the United Kingdom and declined to have his name published, described his experience at the MMIA as "terrible" and "obviously poor", citing an incident where a man harassed a woman, claiming to be her boss and threatening her with impunity.

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Another traveller, Chuwkunalu, alleged that some immigration staff are corrupt, treating people differently based on their class, and giving preferential treatment to white people while demanding money from others, saying "all they want from you is money, they keep asking: 'oga, wetin you bring come for us?'"

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Airline operators also share the same concerns, with George Uriesi, acting Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Akwa Ibom state-owned airline, Ibom Air, lamenting that despite investments in airport infrastructure, the experience remains disappointing, stating that airports should give an excellent first impression of a country, but this is not the case in Nigeria.

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Uriesi, speaking virtually at the third edition of Naija7Wonders Conference, titled 'Detty December: The Lessons and Impact', noted that the new terminal at MMIA has inherited the "dirty behaviour" from the old terminal, with checkpoints mounted at the "nothing to declare" section, making it impossible to pass through without declaring something.

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In June 2024, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo, acknowledged the problem of begging and extortion at international airports, stating that he had received several complaints from prominent Nigerians and was working with other ministers, arms of government, and agencies to tackle the issue.

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Keyamo said that most of the agencies involved in the menace are not under the control of the Aviation Ministry, although they are stationed at airports, and announced that a meeting had been called by the National Security Adviser to address the issue.

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Two days earlier, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) had established a dedicated task force to tackle touts and extortionists at the country's airports, with Managing Director of FAAN, Mrs Olubunmi Kuku, warning that anyone found engaging in illicit practices would face disciplinary action.

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However, two years later, the challenge persists, with FAAN's Managing Director, Mrs Kuku, disclosing that investigations showed that many of those involved in illicit activities at the airport are not strangers to the environment, but rather staff of concessionaires, including trolley service providers, bureau de change operators, and shop owners.

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Kuku stated that FAAN had intensified engagement with the affected organisations and was working with security agencies to strengthen monitoring through staff rosters and attendance registers, appealing to passengers not to encourage the practice by patronising unauthorised persons.

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FAAN has also taken steps to enforce rosters at the airport, ensuring that staff are held accountable for their actions, and warning that businesses found to be culpable would face consequences, including the withdrawal of operating licences.

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In a hypothetical scenario, it is March 5, 2028, and Chuwkunalu, who last visited Nigeria in 2025, lands once again at the MMIA, only to find that the old terminal has been fully rehabilitated and the airport has a new look, with a seamless and corruption-free experience.

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While this scenario exists only in imagination, it is one that many passengers, airline operators, and airport authorities hope will one day become reality in the country, dependent on whether FAAN and other relevant agencies can sustain these reforms.

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As of the time of filing this report, arriving passengers are still being assaulted with the phrase 'My Chairman, Sir', indicating that much work remains to be done to eradicate corruption and harassment at Nigerian airports.