How safe or unsafe is Nigeria?
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It's tough to give a proper answer cos I'm a chap but what I can tell you is that I work with female crew in Nigeria and I'm not aware of them feeling materially less safe than me (which isn't saying much). Certainly I don't think there is a higher risk of personal threat to women than men - Nigeria is an equal opportunities mugger and is happy to make everyone uneasy regardless of gender. Being gay is a very bad idea in Nigeria (certainly gay men are not tolerated and are likely to be attacked or arrested if spotted). If you are being asked to go, please feel free to send me a pm and I will out you in touch with our female pilots and flight attendants and they can give you a proper assessment.
With the right mindset, a total lack of dignity, self respect, and sense of self preservation, Nigeria can be a good place to work. My top tip is first time you go, go with someone who has been before...
With the right mindset, a total lack of dignity, self respect, and sense of self preservation, Nigeria can be a good place to work. My top tip is first time you go, go with someone who has been before...
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Long time lurker, first time poster here.
I've currently been working in Nigeria for just over a year now, based in ABV.
Reading everyones comments I'd tend to agree with them, but maybe not to the extent that everyone goes. I have felt safe and night stopped at just about every airport in Nigeria excluding Madiguri for obvious reasons. Most of the clients we fly out here are the Governors or high up execs with the oil companies, and there for have plenty of security while traveling with them.
I 100% agree with everyone that says a dependable driver is a must. You will find there are few drivers that hold their life more important than getting somewhere quick, and driving is pure chaos. Don't hesitate to tell your drivers to slow down.
Nav aids half the time are unserviceable or erroneous, so make sure you triple check everything. Runway surfaces can be pretty bad and you will not only feel it but you goes through tires much faster than elsewhere. Radios take a bit to get used too, and its not uncommon for Nigerian pilots to get into arguments on the radio with controllers and tie up the air, you find this a lot especially in Lagos and Abv. Professionalism on the radios here is no where to be found when it comes to the locals, tons of chit chatting going on.
Storms come and go, for the most part isolated, and push through pretty fast, but don't hesitate to divert if need be. As someone else stated the passengers would rather get somewhere safely that to tempt fate, and they are happy to divert. Again, most of the pax here are scared of flying, so even turbulence can scare them. Hamatan last year most say was pretty bad, so make sure you get the tower numbers and call yourself for weather, don't trust the locals to give it to you because they will give you "419" info, whatever to get you on your way.
If you don't have much of a problem with that, and you enjoy nothing but chaos and a challenge, you can make it here, but if you are used to everything going smoothly I can assure you Nigeria is the exact opposite of that.
One last positive note is the pay is generally good, and I'd say 50% of pax will tip anywhere from $300 USD up to $3,000 USD.
Its all what you make of it.... don't try to change it, because its pointless, just try to fit in.
If you have any more questions I could help you out with, feel free to PM me.
Scrappy
I've currently been working in Nigeria for just over a year now, based in ABV.
Reading everyones comments I'd tend to agree with them, but maybe not to the extent that everyone goes. I have felt safe and night stopped at just about every airport in Nigeria excluding Madiguri for obvious reasons. Most of the clients we fly out here are the Governors or high up execs with the oil companies, and there for have plenty of security while traveling with them.
I 100% agree with everyone that says a dependable driver is a must. You will find there are few drivers that hold their life more important than getting somewhere quick, and driving is pure chaos. Don't hesitate to tell your drivers to slow down.
Nav aids half the time are unserviceable or erroneous, so make sure you triple check everything. Runway surfaces can be pretty bad and you will not only feel it but you goes through tires much faster than elsewhere. Radios take a bit to get used too, and its not uncommon for Nigerian pilots to get into arguments on the radio with controllers and tie up the air, you find this a lot especially in Lagos and Abv. Professionalism on the radios here is no where to be found when it comes to the locals, tons of chit chatting going on.
Storms come and go, for the most part isolated, and push through pretty fast, but don't hesitate to divert if need be. As someone else stated the passengers would rather get somewhere safely that to tempt fate, and they are happy to divert. Again, most of the pax here are scared of flying, so even turbulence can scare them. Hamatan last year most say was pretty bad, so make sure you get the tower numbers and call yourself for weather, don't trust the locals to give it to you because they will give you "419" info, whatever to get you on your way.
If you don't have much of a problem with that, and you enjoy nothing but chaos and a challenge, you can make it here, but if you are used to everything going smoothly I can assure you Nigeria is the exact opposite of that.
One last positive note is the pay is generally good, and I'd say 50% of pax will tip anywhere from $300 USD up to $3,000 USD.
Its all what you make of it.... don't try to change it, because its pointless, just try to fit in.
If you have any more questions I could help you out with, feel free to PM me.
Scrappy
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Nigeria or hell?
I worked in Lagos 2 months, 1 week and 6 hours. Unable to explain how horrible and unsafe that place is. But when I die if I am asked where I prefer to go between Hell and Lagos, please send me to HELLLLLL!
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scrappy just a couple of points on your post..
so it's improved then.. great to hear..
half the time.. again another improvement !!
and driving is pure chaos.
Nav aids half the time are unserviceable or erroneous,
Don Quixote Impersonator
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In the long ago, an ultimately entirely discredited and banned for life Ppruner actually got one thing right in his Avatar thingy about the place. He may not have been the actual original author but it was the first I heard it.
"Happiness is V1 at Lagos"
"Happiness is V1 at Lagos"
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My last stay in Lagos was 6 days, 14 hours, 8 minutes and 7.4 seconds, calculated from touchdown to lift off, and the latter must have been one of the happiest, almost orgasmically so, moments of my life!
I went to Nigeria a couple of times with my father when I was a 'laaitjie' but it didn't seem so bad in those days, or perhaps I was less cynical, and I remember a few days in Kano, which was lovely.
I went to Nigeria a couple of times with my father when I was a 'laaitjie' but it didn't seem so bad in those days, or perhaps I was less cynical, and I remember a few days in Kano, which was lovely.
