Veteran Nollywood actor Patrick Doyle has shared his personal experience with airline staff who seem to derive satisfaction from provoking public figures.
His post comes in the wake of the viral K1 De Ultimate airport altercation, which has continued to spark debates on power, provocation, and the dignity of Nigerian celebrities in public spaces.
In a candid Facebook post, Doyle admitted that while celebrities often enjoy preferential treatment in public, there are rare but unforgettable moments when some service personnel go out of their way to make them feel small.
He believes some of these individuals nurse grudges, not because of anything a celebrity did directly, but possibly due to a character played in a movie or even a statement made in an interview. Doyle wrote:
“I made a trip to Accra a few days ago and from the immigration officers at passport control to the supermarket check-out cashier, I was given VIP courtesy.”
Recalling how that hasn’t always been the case, Doyle shared one particularly humbling incident at the Asaba airport.
The actor described how a female check-in officer refused to let him carry his hand luggage on board because it weighed just half a kilogram over the allowed limit. Despite his attempt to lighten the mood and plead jokingly, the staffer rudely shut him down. He recounted:
“She barked at me to respect myself. I knew she recognised me because her colleague had come to take a selfie with me while I was in the queue.”
Patrick Doyle said he instantly knew he was being baited. The woman, he believed, was hoping he’d lose his temper and cause a scene, giving her the opportunity to humiliate him publicly. He wrote:
“She was waiting for me to switch into the ‘insulted big man’ mode so that she could escalate the issue, accuse me of breaching airport protocol, and then brag that she put that ‘useless’ Patrick Doyle in his place.”
Doyle said he held his peace, not out of fear, but wisdom, sharing:
“I took her rebuke seriously and comported myself.”
He added that he knew it was a trap meant to draw him into unnecessary drama. He continued:
“These days, I just pray that God should keep such irritants far away from me… and give me the grace not to fall into their diabolical traps.”
Linking the story to the recent altercation involving fuji legend K1 De Ultimate and an airline staffer, Doyle wrote:
“Kwam 1 was baited by the airline staff, and sadly, they succeeded in riling him. I can’t say I blame him, because I have been known to go ballistic during such episodes myself.”
