About two months ago, Okafor returned to its owner a wallet which contained a substantial amount of money and other valuables.
A student of the University of Benin in Edo State, Philip Okafor, has been awarded a scholarship by the management of the school for his integrity.
Okafor was given a special prize for exemplary behaviour which was conferred on him by the Dean of the Faculty of Life Sciences, Professor Jerry Orhue.
Okafor is a 200 level student of Microbiology in the Faculty of Life Sciences in the institution.
According to Orhue, Okafor's outstanding school fees for the semester and subsequent ones till he completes his undergraduate programme, have been totally waived.
About two months ago, Okafor returned to its owner a wallet which contained a substantial amount of money and other valuables.
The wallet belonged to another 200 level student of Environmental Management and Toxicology Department in the same faculty.
Orhue told SaharaReporters that he was highly impressed and excited when he heard about what Okafor did.
He commended Okafor for returning the wallet despite knowing that the money contained in the wallet was enough to cater for his school fees.
Okafor was still having an outstanding school fees of N 45,600 when he found the wallet.
Orhue told SaharaReporters that someone close to the owner of the wallet brought Okafor to his office and duly informed him about the student did.
"Mr. Philip Okafor found a wallet belonging to another student which contained a substantial amount of money. He looked everywhere until he finally found the owner (name withheld), who is a 200 level student of Environmental Management and Toxicology. This good deed was brought to the attention of the Dean who thanked Mr. Okafor for his exemplary behaviour and offered him unfettered access to the Dean’s Office should there be any need for him to come.
"Two months or so down the line, Mr. Okafor walked into the Dean’s Office after booking an appointment by telephone. He had come to request the Dean to help him talk to his Head of Department to allow him take his second semester examination. Philip has yet to pay his school charges for the current session and was in no way sure of being able to raise the money before the examination owing to his present challenging situation. He assured that he would be able to pay the school charges for this and the next session together when school re-opens next session.
"Philip had refused just two months or so earlier to take the money in the wallet he found to pay his school charges, even though the money found in that wallet was well over what was required to pay his school charges of forty-five thousand and six hundred naira (NGN45,600.00). He chose rather to return the wallet and its content to the owner in the midst of his own need even when many in his shoes would have seen this as 'help from above'.
"Impressed by his exemplary character, the Dean on behalf of Faculty offered Philip exempt from school charges not only for the current session for which he was owing but all through his period of undergraduate studies in the Faculty. Philip therefore becomes the first recipient of the Dean's Special Prize for Exemplary Behaviour.
"He has since received his letter of award and the Faculty has since paid Philip’s outstanding school charges. I am happy to announce too that he is currently taking his second semester examination undisturbed. We congratulate Mr. Philip Okafor," he said.