The young man who returned the sum of N7 million mistakenly paid into his account by a bank must be celebrated instead of being derided.
In a country where honesty and sincerity are seen as an anathema, where taking short cuts to get rich has been elevated to an art and where making money no matter how it comes is the order of the day, the likes of Raymond Onyegbuna should be celebrated as role models.
In case you do not know who this young man is, let us give you a brief introduction. A few days ago, Onyegbuna got an alert from Diamond Bank where the sum of N7, 310,000 was paid into his account by mistake.
Onyegbuna at first, thought it was a joke or some scam alert scheme meant to defraud him. He waited to see if the money would be retrieved but after waiting for some hours, he logged into his account and lo and behold, it was real.
A typical Nigerian, many thoughts flashed through his mind: what should he make of the money that definitely did not belong to him? The money he did not work for? Money that could cause someone's sack or in some extreme instances, suicide?
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He took a decision that many have seen as being stupid and brainless: he decided to notify the bank about the money and they promptly thanked him and retrieved the huge amount.
Since the story became viral, Onyegbuna has come under both fire and commendation. Going through his Twitter timeline, you see abuses, insults, curses and even threats from some people who think he threw away God's blessings on him.
Those set of people thinks he was not only an imbecile but someone who would not make it in life since he could close his eyes to such a huge sum of money.
But while speaking to Pulse on why he decided to return the money, Onyegbuna said he did it because he was convinced that it was the right thing to do. He said he would never have known peace for the rest of his life if he had kept the money knowing that it did not belong to him.
Onyegbuna is neither stupid nor moronic; he must have gone through a real torrid time while thinking out what to do with such a windfall. He must have contemplated what he could do with such amount. He could have planned on resigning from his job, setting up his business, going on a vacation, giving himself and family a treat, going on a spending spree or even just 'balling' out.
But he did none of that because he did not feel it was right. He did not have a second thought on what people will say or how they will look at him. He did not bother that he is not a millionaire and may not get such an amount in the nearest future.
But one thing he had a conviction was that he did not work for the money and he would not have peace of mind spending money that did not belong to him.
He knew that if he could get away with the money, he would be 'eating' from someone's sweat and could cause another person so much heartache. He knew he would get cursed wherever he goes, from the owner of the money.
Onyegbuna has confirmed that he did not get any financial reward from the Diamond Bank for returning the money but the simple 'thank you' he got from them and the tweet about him being a Diamond Man was worth more than millions.
The new light in which he is looked upon by his colleagues, family, friends, church and his immediate community is enough compensation for him.
He has now been courted by media houses who invite him to talk about the incident and people now see him as a shining light in a nation where people of integrity are rare to find.
He may not be swimming in money but the recognition this young man has gotten so far for that simple deed is enough to last him for a lifetime.
Raymond Onyegbuna is now a man people can trust for higher positions. Monetary reward is far from Onyegbuna's mind but the goodwill he is getting is something that lights up his world on a daily basis.
Onyegbuna is neither a millionaire nor a super rich guy but he is a young man who knows that morality and integrity count for millions.
He is one young man who should be celebrated especially in this era where someone would prance on the television on one reality show or the other for some weeks and end up with millions while a First Class graduate will get a paltry sum.
We need to celebrate this young man of integrity in a country where winners of educational projects are given handshakes and certificates while people on reality shows are celebrated as worthy heroes.
In a country where parents even encourage their children to take to crime so that they will make money and swim in ill-gotten wealth, Onyegbuna should be placed at the top of the integrity scale.
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In a country where drug barons, armed robbers, fraudsters, ritualists and corrupt politicians build churches and donate to parishes, are given chieftaincy titles and made to sit in the front pews in churches, this young man must be celebrated.
Nigeria needs more people like Raymond Onyegbuna and the idea that there are still honest and trustworthy youths in the country is a thing of joy.
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