No wonder the news of the young man in Kano who returned about 15 million naira forgotten in his Marwa (Keke Napep) is not trending in Nigeria and other parts of the world.
If this were to be news of a Nigerian nabbed for some unusual felony anywhere in the world, it would hit the headlines.
It was just a normal day for Awwalu Salisu who was out on his usual hustle on Thursday, 15th of September, 2023, in the Keke Marwa that he drove for someone else when two Chadians boarded his keke at Badawa and asked him to drop them at Bata area of Sabon Gari, Kano.
Awwalu did and they paid him and went their way. He also continued his hustle.
He dropped the passengers off at around 11:30 am, not realising that the passengers had forgotten their luggage in his vehicle until he saw a sack at the back of the keke.
When Awwalu opened the sack, he saw bundles upon bundles of cash – Naira and CFA, amounting to about N15 million.
His first instinct was to rush home to his mother and show her the money. The mother directed him to his father. His father told him they had to look for the owners.
So, they went back to Bata and scoured the Sabon Gari Market looking for them without success. They returned home.
While listening to the radio two days later on Saturday, 16th September, 2023, they heard an announcement about the lost money on Arewa Radio, one of the popular radio stations in Kano.
Awwalu called the number the Arewa Radio gave. He called more than five times before his call was picked up. He told them he had the money.
The owners said he should tell them where he was so could come and collect their money back.
But Awwalu insisted they remained at the radio station; that he would bring them their money there. And that was exactly what he did.
The most remarkable thing about this story is that Awwalu, as you can guess, is from a poor family. As a matter of fact, the previous night, the family drank gari for dinner because they had no money to eat anything better and more nutritious.
Commending the young man for his honesty, the owners of the money, two Chadian businessmen who had come to Kano to buy goods, could not help but shed tears of happiness for getting their money back. They didn’t expect that they would recover their money.
On why he didn’t keep the money for himself and his family, Awwalu said if he had kept the money, it would be of no use to him in the end because it was not his to begin with.
In other words, Awwalu was saying that the money would be like a mirage, come easy go easy. In any case, whatever he used the money for would come to an end as we would die someday and leave everything behind.
This is the true Nigerian spirit. Let’s us celebrate Awwalu Salisu and his parents for showcasing Nigeria in a good light.
Awwalu and his parents deserve a national award for their honesty. So, please like and share this story until it gets to the appropriate authorities.
Source: AREWA RADIO FACEBOOK PAGE. Culled from Oga Muda Ganiyu Facebook wall.
