By Bukola Kayode
A commercial tricycle operator in Kano State, Salisu Auwal, who returned the sum of N19m he found in his vehicle to the owner, has said he could marry the four women presented to him for his show of honesty.
Auwal told Punch in an interview that he indeed was offered four women to marry, but though he has no plans of marrying soon, he could marry four wives in the future. “Yes, it is true. They offered me four women to marry, even the chairman of the association said his two daughters were included. However, I am not prepared for that commitment. Despite appreciating their gesture, I am not ready at this moment. But I may reconsider it in the future”, he was quoted as saying.
He also narrated how he found the huge sum and why he returned the money.
He said: “Anything that doesn’t belong to me doesn’t attract me, and I think that was what worked for me when I first saw the money in the box. I believe if this also works for our leaders, there would not be corruption in the country.
“Of course, I have numerous plans that require financial resources as the sole means to accomplish them. The money I saw would have been sufficient to execute most, if not all, of my plans. For instance, I do not own the tricycle I currently ride, and I aspire to have my own. There are many similar aspirations on my list. But what doesn’t belong to me doesn’t attract me, as I said earlier. So I returned the money because I was content with the small I had, and I followed God’s wish. God would not have been happy with me if I didn’t return it”.
He added: “That day, I carried four passengers who accidentally left a box behind when they disembarked. I did not immediately realise that they had forgotten something until I parked my tricycle to pray. Upon discovering the box, I realised it was filled with money. I tried to locate the passengers to return it, but unfortunately, I was unable to find them. I immediately returned home without informing anyone, including my friends whom I encountered on my way home. When I got home, I was greeted by my mother.
“I told her about the situation, and she instructed me to contact my father and relay the incident to him, which I did immediately. He requested that I await his arrival at home. When he returned, he inquired whether I could still identify the passengers and I said I could. He proceeded to inquire whether I knew the precise location where they disembarked from the tricycle and I said I knew. He then proposed that we should trace them back to the drop-off point and investigate further. Despite our efforts, we were unable to locate them and subsequently returned home. My father advised me to refrain from disclosing the details of the incident and instructed me to keep the money confidential”.
Explaining further he said: “After three days, my mother heard an announcement on a prominent Kano radio station about individuals who misplaced their funds. They earnestly appealed for the finder to contact them through the phone number provided. My mother diligently noted the phone number and asked my father and I to return home. When we got home, we contacted the passengers five times but they did not pick up. It was when we contacted them the next day that they picked up the call. I told them that I was the tricycle rider and that they left their money in my tricycle. They were very happy and asked for my residential address, but I told them I would like to meet them at the radio station that made the announcement. We met at the radio station that day, and I handed their money over to them”.
“They counted it, confirmed it was complete, and gave me N400,000. I didn’t even touch the money, let alone count it. However, the owners said that it totalled N19m, as some of it was in naira and some in CFA”.
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