By Babatunde Ayedoju

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Nigeria has been known overtime as the giant of Africa, probably because of the population figure that is estimated to be above 200 million, making her the most populous black nation on earth. Unfortunately, despite this obvious numerical strength of the prominent West African country, Nigeria is bedeviled with disturbing socioeconomic challenges that make the citizens prone to illicit activities.

Over the years, Nigerians, both home and abroad, have been associated with several vices, such as fraud, drug trafficking, human trafficking and so on. Such vices have given the country a very unpleasant image in the comity of nations.

However, a good number of Nigerians have also done the nation proud by showing, through their character, that it is not everybody who comes from this country that is a bad person. Among such Nigerians are those who have found huge sums of money that were misplaced and had the courage to return them either to the owners or to the appropriate government agency. It is gladdening to know that Nigerians have done this both at home and in the diaspora.

June last year, Constable Nura Mande from the Katsina State Police Command found $800 while he was performing his official duties at the Hajj camp. The money which was valued at N480,000 belonged to an intending pilgrim. Constable Mande returned the money to the owner and received a reward of N30,000 from the State Commissioner of Police, Idrisu Dauda.

Beyond the shores of Nigeria, Ikenna Nweke, a PhD student in Japan, also did the nation proud. Sometime in July 2020, Nweke who hails from Imo State found a big purse that contained some money along a staircase, while returning from school. He took the money to the nearest police station.

In an interview, Nweke narrated his encounter with the police man on duty, ” “He told me about the Japanese law that if one finds anything lost, especially money, the person is entitled to 10 percent of the money. He added that if the owner of such money doesn’t claim ownership after three months, the money becomes that of the finder.  As he explained everything to me, I told him there would be no need for that and they should just find the owner and hand over the money to him or her.

“They told my pastor to ask me why I didn’t need 10 per cent of the money because they wouldn’t want me to leave and return later to ask for it. He told them I understood everything and that not every Nigerian is a criminal,” he added.

According to Nweke, when some people confronted him about why he refused to take 10 percent of the money, as permitted by the law, he explained that the owner might have needed the entire amount for something very important. According to him, aside the fact that his Christian faith forbade such a thing, he would not want someone to do the same thing to him. He equally said that he wanted to be a good ambassador of Nigeria and his family.

In March 2019, a video went viral online. In that video, a woman, Josephine Ugwu, who claimed to be a cleaner at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos, said that she had returned different amounts of money running into millions of naira to the owner. According to the woman, such amounts ranged from eight to 12 million naira..

Ugwu, however, complained in that video that she was not happy because she felt she had not gotten the recognition she deserved. Her opinion was that in another country, she would have been an ambassador of honesty to the youths.

While some commentators agreed with her, others questioned her for expecting some special recognition or honour after returning lost but found money to the owner.

One of the commentators posted, “Why should we do good because we want people to recognize us and pat us on the back,? Is it still “good”? We should do the right thing and never expect thanks. If it comes, fine; but if it doesn’t come, you keep doing good.”

Talking about whether it is right to expect a reward after returning lost but found money or other valuables to the owner, Professor Simon Ehiabhi from the Department of History and International Relations, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, said it is not a correct mindset. He noted that such a person, having deemed it fit to return the money, should not expect any form of gratification, adding that he or she has done what any rational human being should do.

The university don recommended that the press and schools can help correct such a wrong mindset through sensitisation, saying, “They should let people know that doing what is right and proper means doing what human beings were created for.”

Dr Edamisan Ikuemonisan from the Department of Agricultural Economics, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko differed in his opinion. He said that whether the person who found lost money is expecting a reward or not, it is not out of place for him or her to be rewarded, noting that such a reward will encourage the person and many others to keep up the good habit.

“The person does not have to expect a reward. It’s obligatory for the owner of the money that was found to reward such kind gesture. It’s to encourage others. In as much as that person would have been punished if he stole the money and was caught, he should be rewarded for returning it to the owner,” he added.

He, nevertheless, said that apart from money, such a Good Samaritan can be appreciated by celebrating him or her publicly, especially in the media, as it would encourage others to follow suit.

However, Dr Salman Adisa from the Guidance and Counseling Unit, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, said that it is a sign of good neighborliness and fear of God for someone who finds lost money or any other item to return it to the owner. He explained that someone who does such a thing should not expect any form of reward from people but look forward to the reward from God which is the best.

While noting that moral instruction through seminars and workshop would help to reorientate people, the educational psychologist recommended that the government could accelerate promotion of government officials who are involved in such an act of good neighbourliness.