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Many Nigerians Said I Was Foolish For Returning N100,000 Left By Passenger In My Tricycle—Rider

October 25, 2021

The tricycle operator narrated that on October 19, a lady with children flagged him at exactly 6.45 pm, barely 15 minutes before 7 pm, when tricyclists are expected to be off the roads for the day.

A tricycle operator in Kaduna, Ayuba Yusuf, who returned N100,000 left behind by a passenger, said on Monday that he was surprised by the reactions of some people to his kind gesture. 

 

Yusuf, a diploma certificate holder in Public Administration said although a few people commended him, a lot more scolded him for being ‘foolish’ for returning such an amount in this ‘time of hardship’.

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The tricycle operator narrated that on October 19, a lady with children flagged him at exactly 6.45 pm, barely 15 minutes before 7 pm, when tricyclists are expected to be off the roads for the day, NAN reports.

 

“I told her it was late but she pleaded with me to help her, as she had some small children, and was probably returning from a trip.

 

“Out of pity, I obliged, and at great risk, after which she paid her fare and I left hurriedly to beat the 7 pm closing time fixed by the state government.

 

“But upon reaching home, I saw a bag left in my tricycle, apparently belonging to the woman, and upon opening same, saw some clothing materials, cosmetics, and money, which I decided not to touch,” he narrated.

 

The 44-year-old father of four children said he and his wife listened to the radio to check if the owner of the money would sponsor an announcement.

 

“My wife later heard an announcement on the missing bag on Liberty Radio, Kaduna, and drew my attention to it, after which I returned the items, including the money.

 

“The woman was so elated that she gave me N10,000 out of the money, which I rejected, but she insisted that I should accept same.

 

“Some people at the station intervened by insisting that I accept the gift, which I did reluctantly by collecting only N4,000, and giving some others at the scene, N6,000 to share,” he said.

 

Yusuf resorted to becoming a commercial tricyclist when he could not get a white-collar job after leaving school.

 

He further explained that the tricycle he was riding belonged to someone else and that his weekly returns to the owner, was N15,000. 

 

He said he was disappointed when he was castigated by some people for returning the money to the owner.

 

“I am of the belief that what is not mine, cannot be mine; unfortunately, I received calls from most people castigating me for being foolish enough to return such amount of money in these hard times.

 

“They were surprised that such honesty was displayed by a tricycle operator, of all people, whom they felt, ought to have capitalised on this opportunity to empower himself financially,” he added.

 

The owner of the money, Mrs Maryam Umar, also expressed relief after collecting the bag containing the money and other items

 

“I was so happy; I never knew that such people still abound in our society today; I commend him for his honesty; how I wish all people would always display such attitude,” she said.