Aisha Buhari honours airport cleaner who returned lost item, another finds bag with $7,000

More accolades are coming for a janitor with Lakewood Development Company, Miss Mary Ishaya, who returned a lost bag she picked up in the male toilet of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja in September. Wife of the president, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, presented her with an award of excellence at the weekend.

Mrs. Buhari, who presented the award at a brief reception in the State House, Abuja, urged Nigerians to “emulate the uncommon honesty and incorruptible disposition exhibited by Ishaya. The cleaning firm had in appreciation promoted Ishaya from being a janitor to a supervisor.

The Guardian had reported how Ishaya, who works for Lakewood Company, the cleaning contractor responsible for cleaning Abuja Airport, found the following valuable items in the toilet: $2,000, 140 Canadian dollars, eight pieces of coins, N21,850, two international passports, four ATM cards, four bus cards and baggage claim tags, all belonging to an employee of Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation, Imade Uhunwagho.

Speaking to The Guardian yesterday, Ishaya thanked Mrs. Buhari for recognising her action, adding that the award would encourage her to do more. She, however, sought for a better job.

“I want Nigerians to help me with a good job. Anybody that can help me get a better job, that has the church mind to help me better my life. I want to have a good job and do more for myself, though many things have changed in my life since September, one of which is going to the villa. I give God the glory,” she said.

Meanwhile, spurred on by the commendations trailing Ishaya’s action, another cleaner with Lakewood Development Company, Anthony Obioha, has returned a bag with foreign currencies found in a toilet at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport. Obioha said he returned the bag with over $7,000 to the airport authorities because “the money will not make me rich. Why should I take what does not belong to me?”

When asked if he feared he could be seen by CCTV cameras if he had not returned the money, he said: “I did it voluntarily from my heart and returned the money to security. Cameras are not inside the toilets.”

Responding, managing director of the company, Mr. Sam Nchezor, praised the honest performance of their workers. “This is not the first time, we are proud of their work, which has also earned us an award of appreciation by SERVICOM and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).