Umar Yusuf did what a few in his position would have
done. He found a customer’s dollar bills running into
over 100,000 and returned it intact. For this, the
reception manager has been honoured by the government
of Jigawa State at the grand finale of its 23rd
anniversary celebration in Dutse. Yusuf has been the
toast of his Jigawa Hotels employer and lovers of
honesty, writes Asst. Editor Olukorede Yishau


He lives in a country ranked the 144th most corrupt. Nigeria, where
Umar Yusuf, a reception manager at Jigawa Hotels, proudly identifies
as his country, shares this dubious status with failed states, such as
Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia.
Nigeria only managed to defeat countries, such as Iraq, Syria, Libya,
Sudan and South Sudan, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau,
Haiti, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Yemen of the 177 countries
surveyed.


The rating, which has not significantly improved despite the anti-
corruption efforts of the government, remains a sore point for Africa’s
most populous country.

But Yusuf, who saw and returned a customer’s missing N17 million,
has shown that despite the grim corruption index of his country, there
is hope that someday Nigeria with his likes can share the same space
with Denmark and New Zealand seen as nearly squeaky-clean by graft
watchdog Transparency International in the global survey on
corruption. The annual list is the most widely used indicator of sleaze
in political parties, police, justice systems and civil services.

June 27 started like every other day for Yusuf. He resumed at his work
place which is Jigawa State’s best hotel. The hotel boasts of a garden,
not far removed from its restaurant. At some point that day, he was
around the garden and saw two men sitting and chatting about God-
knows-what. Some minutes later the men left the hotel. One of them
was a guest, who had just checked out. Not long after, he discovered
an Ipad bag where the men were. He reached for it and behold there
was over 100,000 dollar bills in the inner compartment of the Ipad
bag. The owner checked into the hotel on June 24 and stayed for three
days. It was on the third day after checking out that he forgot it at
the garden side.

For someone whose salary and other emoluments are nothing close to
the money he just found, chances are that he would see it as manna
from heaven or answered prayer. But not Yusuf, who was born July
15, 1976.

“It never occurred to me to take the money for myself,” he told The
Nation on phone from his Dutse base yesterday.
But why didn’t it occur to him to steal the money?
“My conscience‘ll not allow me to rest. Here we have a forgotten item
store. What occurred to me was to just inform the management and
that was what I did. Somebody did the calculation and said it was
N17m based on the exchange rate at that time,” he said.

Some days later, the contact person who booked the hotel room for the
customer called to ask if the cash was recovered.
Yusuf said: “He was not even sure where he forgot it. But
immediately he asked if I saw it, I just told him the money was with
me. He came for it. I asked him to count it and confirm that it was
complete but he said there was no need and left. In the first week of
July, I got a letter of appreciation for returning the money.”
He was not the first member of staff who discovered items forgotten by
guests. But that was the first time that huge amount of money was
discovered and returned in tact. No wonder, the management of the
hotel, better known as Three Star, has treated him like the Golden
Boy.

“The management gave me an award for the act,” he said.
Determined to further sell him as a symbol of honesty, it also
recommended him to the owner of the hotel, the Jigawa State
government, to be honoured.

So, on Wednesday, an elated Governor Sule Lamido, as part of
activities marking the state’s 23rd anniversary, presented him with a
plaque and a certificate. There was no cash reward, Yusuf told this
reporter.

Lamido was proud of him and he did not hide his feelings.
This newspaper’s facebook page yesterday published Yusuf’s picture
where Lamido was presenting the plaque and certificate to him. It
became an instant topic for discussion among Nigerians. The picture
was re-shared 248 times; it was seen by 155,520 people; and it
generated 444 comments. The comments were diverse. Some praised
him; others mocked him.

Alambo Datonye said: “God bless Yusuf Umar. Your good name is far
better than all those with dubious wealth. I don’t know if Mandela
was the richest man, yet the whole world stood still for him in life
and in death. No wealthy man can ever get close to that. A good name
is far better than dubious riches.”
The views of Ugboga Olatunji tally with Datonye’s. “There are still
men of honour and integrity in this country. Don’t look at it and say
in your heart, why don’t I collect this money? May God give you
more than this in your pocket. It is well.”
Another commentator, Chris Da’es, said: “People who don’t know that
God rewards will conclude that the man is foolish. One disease (sic)
can take the whole cash in a jiffy. I love his demonstration of
honesty.”

For Pultor Innocent Ogbotobo, Yusuf deserves nothing but
commendation. He sees him as a great man, who has written his
name in gold.

“Before you start judging this man, think about this for a minute.
Even if the government gives him job or not, it does not matter; what
matters is, he is a great man. The definition of greatness is to discover
who you are and to live by it. Though people, friends and family may
call him all sorts of names but there is one thing which I know will
earn him honour than the rest, and that thing is nothing but honesty
because it is written that ‘a good name is better than abundant of
riches’. I am really inspired by this man’s story. To be a man is not
to depend on other people. This is the person that is capable of leading
this country. Think about it,” Ogbotobo said.

Phemmy Joel feels the government should give him cash reward.
“ Nawa for our govt o, Aah! Can u imagine someone who is
honest, trustworthy returning that huge amount of money and they
paid him back with ordinary paper certificate? Aah! No’ wonder
corruption speaks out in everywhere in Nigeria. Government could not
give him job or better still something out of the money. How many
hotel workers can do what he did? I know God that commands us to
do. So, He will reward this man.”
For Gladys Iyamu, her problem is with the fact that he was not given
a cash reward.

“My problem is not the money that he returned, but the baseless
certificate that was presented to him. Or is it a bad thing if he is
recruited in government job? I don’t know why Nigeria government
can’t set good example for others to emulate.”
Jaiyeola Joseph feels Yusuf deserves prayer and love. “May God bless
him and his entire family. I am proud of you. The owner and hotel
management should give him a better award that will transform his
life, not mere certificate, at least N5 million should go to his
account,” he said.

The concern of Olugbenga Thomas Alabi is why the customer was
carrying such a huge amount.
“How did such huge amount get to the hotel and how on earth will
someone forget such amount?”
To Owoeye Popularity Highseek, Yusuf was unfair to himself to have
refunded the money.

His words: “Opportunity never comes but once. This man will surely
die in poverty. Hope the fool is not a married man sha , or else his
wife and children need to leave him for a better life. Nigeria is a
corrupt society. God really wanted to help this man but he misused
the opportunity.”

Makinde Ogunleye said the country had become a nation where hard
work and merit are not rewarded.
He said: “We basically live in a world where it is survival of the
fittest and virtually gone are the days where hard work and merit
were duly rewarded. It is the age of the opportunists, the fittest are
the smart, crafty and those with vision. This guy would probably
regret his decision for the rest of his life when the bills start coming
in and his good name doesn’t mean shit. That is the honest truth.”
For Yusuf, who started working in the hotel 15 years ago, money does
not make a man. Character does. He says his religion, Islam, does not
support stealing what does not belong to you.
He has a wife who is proud of him and two children—both boys. His
focus now, he said, is to pursue a Higher National Diploma at the
Jigawa State Polytechnic, where he earlier bagged an Advanced
Diploma in Public Administration. He had his elementary education at
the Katutu Primary School in Ringim Local Government Area of
Jigawa State. His secondary education was at the Government College,
Birnin Kudu.

The story of Yusuf may just be unfolding. Though Nigeria is seen by
many as an ocean of corruption, again and again the honest ones find
their level and excel.
Perhaps a national honour is in the offing for Yusuf.

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its well...