₦airaland Forum

Amina's father had 5 daughters

IN early December 2011, Mohammad Zakari, of the Federal Ministry of Information, received an account credit alert on his mobile phone, which he thought would be for his November 2011 salary of N62,000.00.
He read the figures again and again, not believing his eyes.
“After all”, he told himself, “I only had a credit balance of N400.00 the last time I checked.”

Almost in shock, Zakari showed the alert to a friend who confirmed it was for a credit of N6,241,469.00.
He was later to tell The Guardian: “When I received the alert, I became blind. I thought it was just N6,000.
“I was wondering what I did wrong for my office to pay me a salary of N6000 until I showed a friend who told me it was N6,000,000 not N6,000.
When Zakari confided in his mother, she told him to return the money.

“The only thing you will do is to ask them to give you N1million to complete your building in the village,” his mother told him.
He continued: “Same day, I got the alert, I told my wife, something entered into my account and she asked how much it was.
“I told her it was N6 million and that may be that was how God wanted to bless me.”

But she disagreed, telling her husband: “God does not bless people like that. If God wants to bless you, he will open opportunities for you to work so that money can come. Money will not just come from heaven to enter into your account.’
“My wife gave me the guts to return that money,” he told The Guardian.

He also reported the overpayment to his superiors.
But he has suffered reproach from his friends who told him: “You can never be rich…they sent that kind of money into your account and you returned it?
“Some of them don’t talk to me anymore because of what I did.”
For his honesty, however, Zakari was among the 155 Nigerians given National Honours as he was conferred with an Award of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR).

“My religion also motivated me to return the money as it teaches that “you don’t take what does not belong to you.”
“I went to my Islamic scholars and told them what happened, and they told me to return it, warning that if I used the money I would not have any blessing from it, that I would not enjoy it in this life, and if I die, I would still suffer punishment.
“So I had to return it.”

“So, the next working day which was Monday, I went to the bank and made inquiry on my account balance and it was N6,241,000.
I just withdrew N62,000, which was my salary.

“Later, I went to the Salary Section of the Federal Ministry of Information, and showed the alert to the Assistant Director who advised me to take it to the Accountant General’s Office.

For his honesty, Zakari was to suffer some hardship arising from bank charges of about N32,000 for making a large withdrawal.
“ I told them I never made any withdrawal and suffered so much before the money was refunded through the Accountant General’s Office”.
“My office was aware of all this and sent a notification to the Independent Corrupt Practice Commission (ICPC), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Head of Service and the Office of the Secretary General of the Federation”.

The SGF office later called me to confirm the development, and I was told to submit a citation about myself, Curriculum Vitae (CV) and two passport photographs.
“Then, I was called to come and collect a commendation and award letter that Mr. President had agreed to honor me with an award of Member of the Order Federal Republic (MFR).
“I was afraid of what would have happened to me if I had not returned the money and they later discovered?
“I am a family man with eight children, seven boys and a girl, brothers and sisters, and I come from a reputable home.
“I could not just spoil my family name.

“N6 million is nothing to spoil my name for. I am not a lazy man and I cannot spoil my name. I am still young in the service and on Grade Level 10.”
Zakari, a native of Garun-Mallam Local Council of Kano State, joined the Federal Civil Service as Information Officer II in 2000 and was posted to Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Abuja.

After a stint at the National Film and Video Censors Board, is at present with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development as a Senior Information officer in the Minister’s office.

Sitting inside a church, University of Regina students Victoria Ordu and Ihuoma Amadi start as a prairie wind rattles the front door.

Ordu glances over, eyes wary, before flicking toward the window at the back of the church she now calls home.

Sunshine streams through the glass, but that's the only taste of the outside world the two girls have been able to get since June 19, when they opted to seek sanctuary in the church.

The fear of being found by the Canada Border Services Agency and deported back home to Nigeria hangs over their heads - all because they worked for two weeks at Walmart.

They have spent each day hoping Canadian Federal Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney - the only one who can change their fate - will grant them pardon.

The daily stress of it has, they say, been "hell."

U of R President Vianne Timmons has visited them at the church and the school has contacted the federal government, throwing its support behind the students' plea to stay in Canada and complete their education.

Amadi and Ordu have also written letters to Kenney, but no one has had a response.

And so, they wait.

"This is a small mistake we made, and now everything is at risk," Ordu says, clasping her shaking hands in her lap.

"It doesn't make any sense. They're looking for us like we've killed someone. We're just students at university ... but it's like we're running away and living in fear every day."

As part of their visas, international students like Ordu - who is studying theatre arts - and Amadi - international studies - are able to work on campus.

Both in Canada on full scholarships paid for by their government, Ordu and Amadi went to Service Canada and got their Social Insurance Numbers when they arrived in 2010, ending up working at the university.

Last year, Amadi found a parttime job at Walmart and Ordu at an agency that does demonstrations at the store.

Both were under the misapprehension their SINs allowed them to work outside U of R. Ordu quit after two weeks, as soon as she found out that wasn't the case.

Amadi discovered her mistake during her second week on the job - and was led away from her till in handcuffs by two CBSA agents.

"They led me through the store, in front of everyone, and all the customers were looking at me like 'What have you done?'" she recalls, looking at the floor.

"I just felt so embarrassed."

Kay Adebogun is a Regina immigration consultant who has taken on their case pro bono.

"Why go to that level of force?" he says.

"Why parade her out of there like she's a criminal?"

Barb Pollock, U of R spokeswoman, says while the school respects the fact laws have to be upheld, it is trying to advocate for a reconsideration of the girls' case.

"We think that the penalty, perhaps, is a bit severe for the crime," she says.

"Albeit that laws have been contravened, in light of what they have done to contravene the law, we would like them to have an opportunity to complete their education with us ... (and) we think it is a harsh penalty to be deported."

Pollock says the university has written to Kenney but is yet to receive an indication when it might receive a decision from the minister.

Both students say they admitted their mistake right away, but think the CBSA's decision to deport them - which went to an admissibility hearing - is an over-reaction.

"It's a huge deal to finish school, come back (to Nigeria) and help the country," Amadi says.

"Now to think we lose three years of our lives because of a small mistake? If there was a fine, a warning, that would be more reasonable. I just wish they could look at this from a human point of view."

Pollock agrees the case demonstrates how important it is for international students to understand Canadian laws.

"We have to make sure our students really understand what it means to come here and go to school - what the opportunities are and, at the same time, what the limits are," she says.

"The fact something may not have been clear, you can be assured we're making that very clear with our incoming students now."

Adebogun would like to see a reversal in the decision to deport Ordu and Amadi, but he also thinks there are bigger issues at play with how the two were treated.

Of particular concern, he says, is the fact both students were asked by CBSA workers for names of other Nigerian students who were working and even if they knew anybody in a gang.

"They agree they did something wrong, but they should have a second chance," Adebogun says.

CBSA could not provide a comment on Tuesday but is expected to provide information on the case today.

hannydarl: Woman date a rich or okay man and I'm kill am world people go say ehen na big eye and long throat cause am fo am. Woman date poor man and e kill am do juju dem go say ehen wetin I'm see for poor man body and why she dey follow man sef. WOman no date come marry, husband come wahala am, kill am. them go say ehen why she nor date am first befOre e marry? say naim fit am. Woman eyes dey see o.

White007: Did I just go back in time? Didn't he insult them by writing that book like 23 yrs ago?

Idowuogbo: Awwwh... Cute!!!!

gbadexy: Bros even from the picture where the dog was standing on its hind leg on the man, it still wasn't as tall as the man and the man doesn't look 7 6eet, besides the dog can't stand on its own higher than that.
You people really surprised me thinking four legged animals are measured tall standing like humans instead of on all fours, and even when on all fours, its measured as tall in the shoulders.

OYINBOGOJU: Islam is a religion of violence thus where 2 or 3 gathered they should be scattered.

ezme: It is 7ft tall when standing on its hind limbs....

Going through this thread and evaluating how Nigerians analyse textual information, I wonder why we expect so much from GEJ #justsaying