Yusuf Umar, 38, and Chief Receptionist with
Jigawa Hotels, is now a celebrity and cynosure of all eyes because of what he
did in June this year, lifting the name of the hotel and his family from
obscurity to limelight.
On June 27, 2014, Umar, while working in
the Jigawa three-star hotel, saw something he had never seen in his life. He
was working round the hotel garden around 1am when he came across an
Ipad pouch that
a guest, who lodged in the hotel and left earlier that day, had forgotten as he
was leaving the lodge. Out of curiosity, the Dutse-born hotelier picked the
small bag and opened it. What he saw shocked him and he quickly went away with
the bag to his duty post. He did not tell anyone but his manager.
Inside the small bag were crisp $100,000
notes neatly packed in rows that would have made the man an instant millionaire
in Nigeria. At the current exchange rate of N170 to a dollar, the money translates
to N17 million and would have been enough to change the social and economic
status of Umar, an orphan, who was brought up by his uncle, Kadi Umar, who
resides with him at Garu Quarters, Emir
s palace in Dutse.Continue..
Although Umar saw the money in the jacket,
he never counted it, he presented it as it was to the manager of the hotel to
keep. But it was not long before the man, who forgot the money discovered that
he had misplaced the money and the Ipad bag. He rang the hotel, fearing that
his worst moment had come. What would he do if the money was not found and who
was he going to report to given the fact that there was no evidence that he
even came to the hotel with such amount of money?
Many
troubling thoughts continued to ravage his mind and he could not sum up courage
to come back to the hotel or call the staff to inquire about the missing
money. However, the woman, who booked
the lodge for him, rang the hotel and reported the loss of the money to the
Head Receptionist, who happened to be Umar, whom she had known at the point of
booking the place forthe man.
’’Hajia, the
bag is with me’’, Umar answered when the lady called. I don’t know exactly how
much is in the small bag but it is neatly packed inside the bag, In a jiffy, the woman landed at the three-
star hotel and was handed the bag containing the money by Umar.
She could
not believe it was real. She almost fainted after counting the money and
realizing it was complete. Not a single note was missing from each of the ten
packs of $10,000.
She
disappeared in ecstasy and returned in a short while clutching two envelopes,
one containing some money for Umar in appreciation for his honesty and the
other for the hotel management for being exceptionally transparent in dealing
with its clients.
The singular
act by Umar has continued to reverberate two months after the money had been
found and returned to the owner. But Umar himself, an Ordinary National Diploma
Student at the Jigawa State Polytechnic, who lost both parents at a tender age
and joined the JHL at inception in 1999, is enjoying the fame and positive publicity
he is getting daily.
Like a good
product, he is being sought after by visitors to the hotel and top government
officials, who have heard about him. Some regularly come around to shake hands
with him while others drop by to give him some gratis all in a bid to identify
with one-of-a kind Nigerian, who has lifted the name of Jigawa State to the
international limelight.
’’I could
not have taken the money because it was not mine’’, Umar told Sunday Vanguard
at Dutse, adding that he was taught by his parents not take what does not
belong to him so as to prosper in life.
He said he
was not also tempted to disappear with the huge sum because as far as he was
concerned, his conscience had already told him that the money did not belong to
him, and that he should quickly present it to the owner in line with his
religious values of speaking the truth no matter how difficultthe situation may
be. According to Umar, three factors influence his decision not to keep the
money.
First, as
soon as he took it, he remembered his God that it would be an offence totake
what does not belong to him; second, he remembered his father’s injunction not to take what does not belong
to him if he wanted to prosper in life and; finally, the fact that it is a
policy of the hotel management not to tamper with any item left behind by any
guest.
There is a
tradition in the hotel that even if a guest forgets an item or money it should
be kept forhim in a strong room that now accommodates undisclosed large amount
of cash and valuables as a demonstration of its commitment to honesty and
integrity.
Umar said a
man, who had forgotten N200,000 came back and was given it in the same currency
that he left in the hotel. The money was picked up by a cleaner while sweeping
the room and returned to the management for upkeep until the owner showed up
two years later with evidence of lodging there and proofthat the money was in
certain denominations.
Umar’s act
of honesty has already attracted the attention of Governor Sule Lamido, who, at
a public ceremony, last week, showered praises on him and urged him to continue
to exhibit the virtue of integrity.bAs a reward, the governor presented Umar
with a motorcycle and a plaque and a certificate personally signed by him
during the 23rd anniversary of the state. It was an honour that excited Umar
the most in his life. He never expected to have a handshake with the governor
but the single act of honesty provided the platform and lifted his family name
beyond Dutse.
Before the
governor honoured him publicly at the Mallam Aminu Kano Triangle on Wednesday,
Umar was blessed on Monday with a bouncing baby boy by his wife, increasing his
family members to two. He already had a boy.
I really
value the certificate and plaque given to me by the governor more than the
motorcycle because the gesture means that I am known within and outside
Nigeria. I am really really excited about that, Umar said.
For that
reason, Umar has decided to change his course of study so as to give the
opportunity to become a diplomat one day. I want to go into the Foreign Affairs
Service so that one day I can work as a diplomat and make my country proud, the
father of two said.
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