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
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.”
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