In the days of yore, honesty was sacrosanct and almost commonplace, as people in communities freely kept their stuff and came back to meet them without regret. However, with modernisation and city life have come a rat race that put everyone in a race for survival, causing many to lose this vital virtue. However, recent showings by some distinguished Nigerians have proven that hope is not totally lost. The Nation reports.
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Imagine that you and your family members are experiencing harrowing economic situation, battling rising cost of commodities, transportation, school fees, housing and sundry issues, owing to the fuel price subsidy removal and rise in naira/dollar exchange rate.
Imagine also that you happen on a bag on your way to work or home, picked it up out of curiousity and discover that it is filled with wads of dollar, pound sterling, euro, or even naira notes.
Would you keep it or take a decision to look for the owner and hand it over?
Tough question, right?
It goes without saying that many would be tempted to keep it and use it to solve their pressing, almost suffocating financial problems. Recent occurrences, especially the looting and brigandage that accompanied the EndSARS protests, and the more recent attack and looting of food trucks across the country have also made it look almost impossible to think that there are such honest Nigerians who would return such ‘good fortune’ – at least not in good numbers.
However, there are some Nigerians who are debunking that notion, pulling the carpet off the feet of such assumption, with their show of sterling show of honesty.
The Nation spotlights five unique Nigerians – Mohammed Abdulrahman, a point-of-sale (POS) operator in Kano, who returned N9.9 million; Dayyabu Bala Gezawa, a casual worker of the Kano State Pilgrims Welfare Board, who found and returned N16 million and Auwalu Salisu, a tricycle (keke) rider in Kano, who returned N15 million. In far away Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Hajiya Aishatu ‘yan Guru Nahuce from Zamfara State returned $8,000, and a staff of Eko Hotel and Suites in Lagos, Kekwaaru Ngozi Mary, returned $70,000.
These five Nigerians, though of humble means, maintained their good name and stayed true to their conscience, demonstrating that indeed the honest ones have been born – apologies to Ayi Kwei Amah, the Ghanaian author of The beautiful ones are not yet born..
Mohammed Abdulrahman, POS operator
On December 21, 2023, a merchant at the Dawanau grain market in Kano transferred N10 million to 37-year-old Mohammed Abdulrahman instead of N10,000.
After realising the businessman’s error, Abdulrahman, rather than keep the money to himself and consider it his good fortune, reported the error at the nearest police station.
Kano Police spokesman, Abdullahi Kiyawa, said it took three months of investigation to identify the businessman who made the transfer and the money was refunded.
For his good character, the POS operator was rewarded with N500,000.
“The owner admired the gesture and out of joy, gave Abdulrahman N500,000,” Kiyawa said.
The state Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Gumel commended Abdulrahman for his honesty and good conduct.
“It was since on 21/12/2023, that a Point of Sale (POS) Operator known as Mohammed Sani Abdulrahman, 37 years, ‘m’, of Kurnar Asabe Quarters Kano, reported himself at the Bompai Police Headquarters Kano, where he stated that someone among his customers had overpaid into his POS business, the sum of nine million, nine hundred and ninety thousand naira (N9,990,000:00) while he wanted to make an online transfer of ten thousand naira (N10,000:00) only and mistakenly transferred the sum of ten million naira (N10,000,000:00),” Gumel had told reporters.
The businessman, who admitted the mistake, thanked the POS operator and the police for locating him and returning his money to him.
Dayyabu Bala Gezawa, casual worker
While preparing for pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia last year, Dayyabu Bala Gezawa, found N16 million while on duty as a casual worker with the Kano State Pilgrims Welfare Board and handed it over to the director general of the board.
The money was part of the pilgrims’ basic travel allowance for one local government area of the state.
Due to his incredible behavior, Gezawa earned a permanent job, a seat for Hajj last year, and one million naira from the Kano State Government.
Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, during a presentation of the 2023 Hajj report by the State Pilgrims Welfare Board, said his administration decided to honour Gezawa as an expression of gratitude for the integrity he exhibited.
“This casual worker has proven his integrity by returning missing money, despite his status and the economic hardship in the country,” he said.
Auwalu Salisu, keke rider
When Auwalu Salisu, a 22-year-old tricycle (keke) rider, discovered the sum of N15 million that a Chadian businessman passenger left behind inside his vehicle while hurrying to the market, he demonstrated an uncommon kind of honesty.
He found the bag full of cash while cleaning his tricycle after transporting three people from Badawa to Yan Kaba Motor Park in Kano.
Salisu, an indigene of Nasarawa Local Government Area, Kano State, who resides in Yankaba, quickly returned the cash after learning about its loss over the radio.
According to him, he never considered squandering the money because his upbringing would not permit it.
“After I found the bag, I rushed to our house and showed my mother the bag of foreign currency. My mother quickly informed my father, who also informed his elder brother. When they came to the house, they decided we should not announce finding the money on the radio, but wait till the owner announced losing it.
“As soon as I heard the announcement on Arewa Radio, I quickly went to where I kept the money and rushed down to the station to return it.”
In appreciation, the owner of the money gave him N400,000, while he also received gifts and accolades from numerous organisations for his outstanding act.
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) gifted him N100,000 in appreciation of his candor. Ironically, it was around this moment that he revealed that nearly all of his friends had made fun of him for returning the money.
The Chairman of the ACF in Kano, Dr. Gwani Umar Farouk, during the announcement of the gift, affirmed that the organisation chose to honour Salisu to use him as a role model for other Nigerians.
Despite his financial difficulties, Farouk said the tricyclist showed a high degree of honesty by returning the money to the owner.
In addition, members of the Kano State House of Assembly expressed their gratitude to Salisu by gifting him a portion of their salaries, stating that it was done to inspire others to follow in his footsteps of integrity.
As if those were not enough, Salisu was also recognised as Outstanding Young Person of the Year at the 2023 LEADERSHIP Annual Conference.
There, he had the privilege of shaking hands with governors, ministers and other prominent figures at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja and also sharing the podium with them.
His rare gesture also earned him a scholarship to Baze University courtesy of the former Governor of Anambra State and presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the last presidential election, Mr. Peter Obi, and an announcement of N50 million in scholarships from the state government, the Progressives Governors’ Forum, the All Progressives Congress (APC), and ministers by the governor of Niger State, Umar Bago.
Expressing his excitement and appreciation for the award, Salisu said: “I am humbled and I’m excited because I never expected that the simple act of returning money to the owners would earn me this kind of fame and honour.
“Though hunger would not allow some people to return the money, you have to control yourself because honesty does pay.”
Hajiya Aishatu ‘yan Guru Nahuce, Zamfara pilgrim
For Hajiya Aishatu ‘yan Guru Nahuce, it was a personal decision to return the $80,000 (N64,240,000) she found during her pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia last year.
Hajiya Aishatu, who is from Bungudu Local Government Area in Zamfara State, informed and gave the money to one of her state’s Pilgrims Welfare Agency officers before it was returned to the owner.
She explained that she decided to return the cash because she wanted to avoid the wrath of Allah.
Besides, she could not bring herself to keeping something that was not hers, as it would amount to stealing.
“The money in question was in a purse and it was lost by its owner in the Holy Mosque of Mecca. I came across the money when I was going around the Holy Kaaba as part of Hajj activities.
“I didn’t know what was in the purse until I returned to my hotel room. Immediately I opened it, I saw some money in dollars and I quickly closed it and went directly to Sheikh Ahmed Kanoma, a prominent Islamic scholar in Zamfara State.
“I was in the Holy land of Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam. I was there to seek the blessings of Allah, so, if I had refused to return the money to the owner, do you think Allah would be pleased with me? I am also sure that Allah will surely ask me about this money in the world hereafter. This could also lead me to hellfire. So, that explains why I decided to return the money to the owner when I found it. I returned the money to avoid the wrath of Allah.
“I did not become a God-fearing person as a result of my going to Hajj. I am telling you that this has been my personal life. I hate taking anything that does not belong to me. I hate Haram (something that is forbidden) because I know that God warns us several times in the Holy Quran that we should desist from eating Haram. That was why when I came across the money, I tried to find the owner and give him his money.”
For this feat, Governor of Zamfara State, Dauda Lawal, honored the pilgrim in the company of all Emirs of the State, at the Council Chambers, Government House, Gusau upon her return from Hajj.
The Governor expressed the immense joy of the State Government at the pilgrim’s honesty.
“The entire people of Zamfara State are proud and happy over what Hajiya Aishatu did in Saudi Arabia. It has added to the good name of the entire people of Zamfara.
“It is an honour for us, not to Hajiya Aishatu alone because she has written her name in the good books of history. Such a gesture is expected of any faithful Muslim, especially in a holy land.
“We have seen a clear example of honesty worth emulating from Hajiya Aishatu and believe me, not everyone can find such a huge amount of money at a place where there was no one, and return it.
“As part of the arrangement, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will also honour her for this act of honesty.”
Mary Ngozi Kekwaaru, hotel staff
At a time when the value of the dollar is surging in Nigeria and converting any significant sum to the dollar would have equally yielded significant return, 32-year-old Customer Care staff, Mary Ngozi Kekwaaru refused to fall into temptation. Rather than keep the $70,000 that a guest at the Eko Hotel and Suites, where she worked as a staff member, left in a bag after checking out of his hotel room, Mary opted to hand it over for return to the owner.
She quickly alerted the hotel management after discovering the bag.
General Manager of Eko Hotel and Suites, Danny Kioupouroglou confirmed that the process of returning the money to its rightful owner was done with the establishment’s integrity and transparency policy.
The guest was contacted and the money was returned, much to their relief and gratitude.
Danny said: “This incident is a testament to the honesty and integrity of our staff.
“At Eko Hotel and Suites, we pride ourselves on our commitment to ethical conduct and exceptional customer service. We believe that our staff are our greatest asset, and this incident is a testament to that belief.”
The lucky guest, in turn, expressed his profound gratitude to the hotel staff and management, praising their swift action and integrity.
Popular Nigerian musician, David Adeleke, better known by his stage name, Davido, gave Mary a $10,000 award for her honesty.
The popular singer had shared a tweet by one Dami Adenuga, who took to X (former Twitter) to announce the development, and wrote on his official Twitter handle “Find her for me …I donate $10k”
Mary hails from Emouha Local Government Area in Rivers State. After graduating from the University of Port Harcourt where she obtained a degree in Arts, Foreign Language/Literature in 2015, she came to Lagos in search of a better life.
It was also a feast of accolades for her when Chidi Lloyd, chairman of local government origin gave her the honour of performing the ground-breaking ceremony for the one-kilometer Omkpoba-Mgbere road being built in the Ibaa Community.
Additionally, she was unveiled as the local government’s brand ambassador, bestowed a chieftaincy title, while a significant pavilion was dedicated to her.
She also got a gift of N2 million from Ikwerre Local Government Council Chairman, Dr. Samuel Nwanosike at the Council Headquarters, Isiokpo.
A joyful Mary expressed gratitude to the local governments, the Council of Chiefs, and the people of Rivers State for the honors bestowed on her.
She advised youngsters in the council areas to learn from her story and stay away from criminal activities.
Mary explained that she did not steal $70,000 because she remembered the Christian virtue of not stealing what did not belong to her.
Source: NationOnline
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