The Lagos airport whether local or international is one of the busiest in Nigeria and arguably in Africa. The airport which is supposed to highlight Nigeria’s history, culture and tourism to both local and international travellers is a shadow of itself. How? When you arrive Nigeria, there should be available information about our history, way of life, choice destinations to visit and best hotels to stay. Unfortunately nothing! The airport is a microcosm of the larger Nigerian society where government services are barely up to scratch. Even with the concession of the airport, it hasn’t changed its fortunes. So, if you ply the Lagos airport often, Jumia Travel gathers some of the struggles you can readily relate with. This is to encourage the government to fix the Lagos airport to meet international standards because it is Nigeria’s window to the world.
Epileptic power supply
You can only imagine the disgust when you arrive in your country and everywhere is dark. It is a rude welcome to Nigeria. The reason for this? The power grid of the airport has shut down. Some people will not be surprised by this because beyond the airport, electricity is unstable. The intermittent power outage at the Lagos airport is the height of embarrassment to use torchlight to taxi your way through the airport. There should be nothing like power interruption at any airport in Nigeria let alone Lagos airport.
Fanning yourself
Due to poor ventilation and absence of enough air conditioners, you have to provide air by fanning yourself.
Officials asking for tips
The different officials tasked with the responsibility of ensuring the airport function without any hitches are the ones who use underhand ways to collect tips from travellers. While some greet you excessively, others ask you pointedly to offer them something.
Spending hours to be cleared
With recurring power outages, you have to spend hours being cleared by the different regulatory agencies at the airport. And there are many of them. Their services are very slow when there is power. You can only imagine how their services will look like when there is no power. It is worse when you still have to fan yourself through this harrowing ordeal.
Ambush by Taxi drivers
For travellers who have no one to pick them up at the airport, they are at the mercy of taxi drivers or individuals scavenging for persons who may need their services. As you are leaving the arrival lounge, their voices will be the next you hear. The disorderly manner they ambush travellers who have just arrived is the problem.
Adeniyi Ogunfowoke is a PR Associate at Jumia Travel.
