N20,000 Earner Returns N17m Missing Money To Owner At Jigawa Hotel

A man in Jigawa has performed a
remarkable deed as he found and
returned N17 Million.
37-year-old Yusuf Usman discovered the
money in an iPad jacket in one of the
rooms he supervises at the Three-Star
Hotel in, Dutse, Jigawa.
Usman earns just N20,000 monthly but
that did not tempt him to keep the
money. He said:
“I have been with State, for the past 15
years and I am currently their Reception
Manager. What actually happened was
that on that fateful day that I found the
money, I was on my way from reception
to see one of the house-keepers. I
passed through the hotel garden where
some of our guests usually relax.
As I was going, I saw an iPad lying close
to one of the flowers in the garden and
there was nobody there. So I went and
took the iPad so that I could take it to
the reception and wait for the owner
who may come for it later.
When I looked at it closely, I saw some
foreign currency and some wad of naira
notes in the iPad jacket. I quickly took it
to the management and I was asked to
keep the money and the iPad in my safe
at the reception. I did not count the
money myself,”
“Three days later, a staff of Jigawa
College of Health Technology, Jahun, who
came to book the hotel for their guests
called me and said that one of the
guests, who was lodged in the hotel had
called to say that he misplaced his iPad
containing some money, but can’t
remember whether it was in the hotel
he forgot it or not. I told them that it
was in the hotel and I found it,”
The reception manager said the people
from Jahun were so happy and full of
thanks when they came to claim the
money.
“When the owner of the money found
out that his money has been found, he
was very happy. They thanked me and
the management of the hotel. The
Jigawa College of Health Technology
wrote a commendation letter to me.
It was there they stated that the money
was over $100,000 because the jacket
also had local currency in it. My
management also gave me a
commendation letter. Governor Sule
Lamido was informed and he showered
a lot of praises on me.
He was very proud of me,”
“As you can see I am not financially
comfortable but that is not the point.
What is not yours is not yours. There are
three reasons why I will never take
somebody’s property. One, stealing is
against the teaching of Islam and I was
strictly brought up according to Islamic
teaching.
Secondly, my father has always warned
me never to tamper with what is not
mine because it can bring destruction in
my life and thirdly, it is the tradition of
our hotel not to hide whatever item we
found. Even if it is not me that found the
iPad and the money, whoever found it
will have returned it. We have a store in
the hotel for forgotten items.
Some items have been there for 10
years. I don’t see what I did as a big
deal. I am just doing my duty,”
“I don’t believe that running away with
somebody’s money will make me
wealthy. Wealth belongs to Allah and if
Allah destined me to be wealthy it will
come to pass. My wife is so proud of me
that her respect for me has doubled,”
Usman admonished the youth to
preserve their integrity and to realize
that a good name is better than wealth