We don't take anything that doesn't belong to us in my family'The Turkish Airlines has rewarded one of the cabin cleaning team leaders of Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO), Mr. Salami Lateef Ibrahim 44, with an all expenses paid return trip to Istanbul, Turkey for returning N7.35 million he found in a Boeing 777 of KLM Airlines. Debo Oladimeji finds out why he has decided to be different not minding the vicissitudes of life that would have prompted him to do otherwise.HE was born and raised in Nigeria like other Nigerians. But due to his rare show of honesty and commitment to duty, Mr. Salami Lateef Ibrahim, a staff of the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) was rewarded by the Turkish Airlines with a return ticket to Istanbul, Turkey for returning the sum of 25, 000(about 6.25 million) and '5,000(about N1.1 million) totaling of N7.35 million he found inside a Boeing 777 belonging to KLM Airlines at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, (MMIA) Lagos on April 17.Because of his honesty and dedication to duties, Ibrahim was earlier on made one of the cabin team leaders of the passenger flights that NAHCO handles -' like KLM, Air France, Turkish Airlines, Delta Airlines, British Airways, Emirates, Ethiopia Airlines and some others.The incident that brought him to the limelight was not the first time he would be that honest in his duties. In September 2009 he had found a wallet on a KLM Airlines, containing dollars and other foreign currencies, which he handed over to a security man.'I was expecting the security man to make announcement to the passengers that something like that has been found. When I discovered that it was taking time, I had to contact my superior who went to meet the Ground Staff of KLM, who confronted the security man,' he said.He recalled that :'My employer got to know about it and wrote me a commendation letter.'The second time was in September 2011.He was working in the Business Class of KLM when he found an ipad and a Black Berry phone in a big bag. 'I called the Ground Staff of KLM, Mr. Antia and I handed over the items to him. That one there was no commendation letter from my employer. I was even expecting that they will put it in NAHCO post flight, so that it will reach the management, but that was not to be,' he recalled.Then came this April 17. He first of all discovered a nylon bag containing women lip sticks in the Economic Class of the KLM Airlines.When he wanted to take it, his colleagues said he should not bother because it was aircraft tools. 'I said, 'no! I don't think it is aircraft tools.' I then discovered that it was a big box containing women lip sticks with mirrors. I handed it over to the security men,' he said.But barely five minutes later, he found the wallet that brought him to the limelight. It was in the Business Class. This time around, he confirmed the contents before handing it over to the security man who handed the wallet over to Antia.After like six or seven minutes, he recalled that the owner of the wallet appeared with the Ground Staff.'He is a white man. When saw his wallet, he almost prostrated to thank me, even he was about to hug me,' Ibrahim added.It was the grateful owner of the purse who informed his superior, Mr. Soremekun, about the incident.It was while Mr. Soremekun was reporting the incident to the Load Controller of Turkish Airline that the Turkish Airline's Station Manager at the airport, Mr. Ovunc Bilgen, heard the case and said he was going to follow it up.'By that time I had closed from work. After I had dressed up, I was about to go home, when I was told that the Station Manager wanted to see me,' Lateef said.The Station Manager gave him a handshake and promised to give him a rebate of 20 percent discount on Turkish Airlines. He also asked him to come to the head office of Turkish Airlines at Victoria Island. Ibrahim thanked the Station Manager and went his way.On getting to the head office of the airlines the following day, Bilgen introduced him to the Managing Director of the airlines in Nigeria, Mr. Ali Bulut, who after expressing appreciation, announced that the rebate ticket given to him has been upgraded to a return ticket to Istanbul, Turkey and that he would also assist him to get a visa.Lesson from Past ExperiencesIbrahim disclosed that he has learnt that it is good to be honest. For example, there was a time a colleague of his found a wallet in an Emirates Airlines and he handed it over to a security man, who however kept quiet until the cat was let out of the bag.The owner of the wallet, a solder, later turned up. The security man was sacked and also charged to court.He also recalled how one Mr. Fatoyinbo, a staff of NAHCO discovered a bag containing foreign currencies worthN37 million, at the arrival lounge.'He handed it over to the owner. Three months later, the man gave the honest man a new KIA saloon car,' he recalled.Above all, Ibrahim was brought up by his parents to live a honesty life and to be dedicated to duties. 'We don't take anything that doesn't belong to us in my family,' he said.He recalled that his parents came from Kogi State. 'In our family, my parents were so strict and if you come home from school with things that are not yours, my parents would lead you back to the school and report you to your teacher or headmaster and return the things to them.'We were only two, I am the first child and my sister, is Mrs. Hawau Emmanuel,' he said.He stressed that a good name is better than riches. Ibrahim maintained that if he had stolen the money, the repercussions will caches up with him or his children.His wife, Janet, always backed him in his policy. He said. I'm lucky, I have a good wife also,' he said.Ibrahim attended Army Children High School, Military Cantonment, Ikeja, Lagos. He finished in 1992 and would have loved to continue with his education but for the death of his parents.He is particularly happy that foreigners now know that honest thrives Nigerians.'If people can fight corruption right from the family level, there is going to be a change. Parents should have time for their children and teach them how to live a honest life,' he said.Reactions From His EmployerThe Head of Human Resources of NAHCO, C. Akiti, said that they have honest people like Ibrahim in NAHCO. ' I assume that why he is getting so much press coverage is because of the volume of the money involved. Our staff do return money, phones and all that to the owners. But this one is the largest amount I have heard since I joined NAHCO in 2010,' she said.NAHCO, she said, trained its staff about the importance of honesty. She added that curiously it was not the KLM Airlines that has offered Ibrahim the return trip to Istanbul.' Yet, this is the second time he has found money for the passengers of the KLM, because he is dedicated to that airlines. They used to give him a handshake and communicated it to us. So we have written him a recommendation letter,' she said.Akiti added that this time the Turkish Airlines decided to reward him. 'You never can tell when your reward will come. Personally that is what I feel,' she said, adding that KLM has not done anything wrong by their action or inaction. 'Turkish and KLM are both clients of ours. But the Turkish man said: 'Where I come from, this is how they do when something like this happen.' We are talking about culture. If they decided not to give him any recognition at all, it wouldn't have been a bad thing. That is a fact,' she said.She emphasised that Ibrahim returned the money not for financial reward, but because he was an honest man.'Interestingly, I was asking him: 'What are you going to do with this your return ticket to Turkey', he said: 'I am ready to travel now.' I said:' when you don't have International Passport'' He was like he has started making moves,' she recalled.Akiti reminisced that Ibrahim later said that he did not even know if the Turkish Airlines was going to be responsible for his accommodation in Istanbul.She asked Ibrahim again: 'If you don't have money, what would you do'' Lateef replied that he would go and borrow money.Unknowing to Ibrahim, one of her recommendations to NAHCO management was that they should pay him a certain amount, so that he can go and have a good time in Istanbul.'And I know that my management is very sensitive to things like that. They will do something really good. But that is just to tell you how unassuming he is.'He just felt that if he had not returned the money, he would not sleep well. Whereas, some people can steal ten times of that amount and sleep soundly,' she said.She revealed that in one of the radio stations, one guy called in and said, if it had been him, he wouldn't have returned the money. 'Because he said that for somebody to have so much money in his wallet, he must either be a drug baron, politician, he gave a whole gamut,' she said, adding that interestingly the owner of the money was a white man.However, it seems funny to her that the owner of the wallet gave Ibrahim, about three thousand naira. 'Basically, he could have been looking at it from the perspective that he just did his duty. What is the big deal''' We all have different reasons for not doing the right thing. But we are all going to be accountable to God for all our actions on earth,' she said.The human resources expert added that the government hasn't done bad in terms of rewarding people.' I heard somebody saying that Ibrahim is somebody that should be given a national award.'Once you are above 18 years, you are no more a child. Parents should do their very best. Children, irrespective of what type of parenting, can turn out to become good persons,' she counselled.
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