Jigawa Governor Awards Hotel Staff Who Found & Returned N17 Million

Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State presenting an award certificate to Yusuf Umar, a junior staff at 3 Star hotel who found and retuned N17m lost cash for the hotel guest.

He earns N20,000 monthly as salary, but hotel worker, Malam Yusuf Usmanwowed many when he returned N17 million he found in one of the rooms he supervises. Malam Yusuf Usman has joined a select group of Nigerians who have chosen honesty and hard work as a cardinal principle of life no matter the

temptation or hardship. Few weeks ago, Yusuf found and returned an iPad whose jacket contained N100, 000 dollars (N17 million), though his own salary is N20,000 a month.
The 37-year-old Usman told Daily Trust that he did what he did because he was brought up not to covet other people’s property.
On what motivated him to return the money:
“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,”
Usman said poverty will never make him to take what does not belong to him. “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 stated enthusiastically.