President Buhari has applauded a Nigerian man, Ikenna Nweke, who found a wallet loaded with cash on the streets of Japan and returned it to the authorities.
Ikenna, who is a PhD student at the University of Tsukuba, Japan, and also a teaching assistant in the same university, said he was on his way home when he found the wallet.
”On the 19th of June, 2020, as I was coming home at about 7pm, I wanted to buy kebab for my wife, when I approached the shop in the centre I saw a purse and I picked it up. When I opened it, it contained [a] huge sum of money, queen’s cards and other valuables. I was sure that the owner was looking for the money, I was sure the owner was heartbroken then I took the money to the police station.
On getting to the police station, the police officer asked why I did not take the money, I told him that I was raised by a decent family and that my faith as a Christian forbade me from taking anything. Then I handed over everything to him and he took my information and everything about me and then told me about my rights as somebody who has found something that was missing.
He told me that I was entitled to 10 percent of the money and that if the owner of the money does not come to pick the money after three months, that the whole money will be mine.
Both offers were rejected by me. I rejected those offers because I am a Christian, I rejected those offers because I was raised by a very decent family. I rejected those offers because I’m a Nigerian.
Here is a message for every Nigerian that should maintain, protect the image of our nation wherever we are. Especially those in diaspora, we are the Nigerian people know. When we do something bad abroad it reflects on the image of the nation.
This is a message for non-Nigerians who think that every Nigerian is a criminal. That is not true. Nigeria is a country of about 200 million people. Two hundred million wonderful people.
There are some criminal elements in Nigeria, I must admit, and these criminal elements are found in every part of the world. These criminal elements are just a tiny fraction, they do not represent who we are, they do not speak for us. They are not a true reflection of who Nigerians are.” Nweke said.
In a statement released on Saturday July 4 by Femi Adesina, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, President Buhari applauded Nweke for projecting the values of honesty, integrity, and contentment. The statement reads
”President Muhammadu Buhari sends warm greetings and commendation to a Nigerian doctorate student in University of Tsukuba, Japan, Mr Ikenna Nweke, who returned a missing wallet with huge sums of money to the police, and also turned down offer of a percentage by the authorities.
President Buhari salutes Nweke for projecting the values of honesty, integrity and contentment that should be the hallmark of a people, noting that good virtues and propriety are the hallmark of every culture in Nigeria, while crimes and criminalities are exceptions.
The President believes Nweke’s behaviour, coming at a period that the country needs a positive spotlight and close-up on its real values, clearly signposts what should hold the nation together, inspired by solid foundations laid by most families, religious bodies and communities for success in life.
President Buhari wishes Nweke all the best in his studies and work as a teaching assistant in same university, urging all Nigerians, home and abroad, to keep celebrating the age-old, irreplaceable attributes of honesty and decorum, and shun the microwaved, get-rich-quick tendencies that bring individual and collective shame.”
