GABRIEL Okenwa's rare qualities of transparency and honesty have brought him honour and respect at home and overseas where he has been severally celebrated, which is why he was recently honoured by his fatherland with Member of the Order of the Niger (MON) award.In today's world, where honesty and transparency are rare virtues, finding individuals with characters that bespeak candour and truthfulness has become a difficult undertaking. Still, there are some selected few who no matter who no matter the peer or societal pressure to do otherwise would rather stick to the truth. But as one time American President, Abraham Lincoln asserted, 'It's better to tell the truth and save the country' rather than resort to double standard. For when the truth is told, the society will be better served and the future secured as for the good of all.Though, Nigeria is still in dire need of men with transparency mostly in public live, its image abroad has over time been brightened by the singular acts by men and women whose love for the fatherland leads them to good works. Some time ago in far away South Africa, Mr. Gabriel Okenwa, a banker by profession had visited the country and while there, he went to a bank for a financial transaction and was overpaid by the cashier. Instead of relying on 'goodluck', like they say in local parlance, 'God don butter my bread', Okenwa decided to return the money to the bank running into millions, to the astonishment of the South Africans.That the South Africans were amazed at Okenwa's behaviour did not come as a surprise. After all, he was a Nigerian! For, to many, though erroneously, a Nigerian can do no good, what with an abundance of 419ers and other categories of con men who routinely fleece unsuspecting victims of their hard-earned money in the country and even overseas. To worsen matters, most Nigerians in that country are associated with crimes such as drug peddling and even armed robbery. But on this day, the toga of Nigeria as a country of crooks was discarded and honesty implanted in the minds of South Africans.The banker who currently works with Zenith Bank where he has risen to the position of assistant general manager said he had gone to ABSA Bank that morning to exchange his 50 Euros for the South African rand, only for the cashier to mistake it for 5000 pounds and pay him the sum of N16.8.Said Okenwa who has also emerged the first candidate outside the United States of America to bag a doctorate degree from the University of Phoenix, Arizona: 'When the cashier who paid me saw me, she was extra ordinarily excited. She was marveled and thrilled at the same time and thanked God profusely. She took me to her boss, a white lady who was also very impressed. The cashier later took me to her manager. They hosted me to a dinner, which was well attended. They were surprised that a Nigerian behaved in such a wonderful and unexpected manner.'He went on to state that even when the money was returned, the banker was not certain. 'Careful observation, however, revealed that the excess was from the bank,' he said. 'There and then I headed to the bank with the money. I met the cashier that paid me and gave her the balance. As a banker, I felt the lady didn't notice that immediately. But I believe when she was closing for the day's transaction, she must have realized that there was a mistake somewhere.'Okenwa comes across as a man of integrity who is prepared to deny himself unearned wealth in order not to deny others what is rightly theirs. He diligently refused to use the excuse of hustling or eking a living as an excuse to become rich overnight. If he had done otherwise, he would have caused unquantifiable pain to the bankers.In choosing to toe this line, this path of honour, Okenwa inadvertently attracted accolades not only to his person, but to Nigeria as a nation. By returning the bank's money, Okenwa had written Nigeria's name in the golden book. Hence, notwithstanding the sordid tales about Nigeria, many in that country will now see Nigeria in a better light.On the other hand, many would have seized the occasion and climbed the 'success' ladder, eager to interpret the incident as 'blessing from God. Today, that act of honesty has tremendously redeemed Nigeria's image in various ways. While explaining his reasons for returning the money, Okenwa noted that integrity is better than wealth.'Even to the young and the old, fraud can never be a better means of making money. In fact, it is by no means; whatever comes fraudulent will definitely go that way,' he added.For Okenwa, the South African incident is not the first; to be sure, honesty has never eluded him. Narrating an event that happened in his bank, he said: 'ACB is customer friendly. We tried as much as possible to be part of our customers in whatever we are doing, especially when we have something at stake, either as loans or projects'.'A customer of ours, GONG publishing was launchinga book titled Miss World: the Beauty, the Hurdles and The crown, which we funded. Based on that, they asked us to be part of it and the bank approved that I represent them. I was like her financial representative; I recorded, transacted everything that concerned money for that project.' Interestingly, Okenwa said, 'after the day's job, I needed to reconcile to ascertain what was expended. I went back to my hotel at about 3pm. Back in the hotel, I noticed that there was still a large chunk of money remaining even after we had spent so much. It was shocking. I became more apprehensive as to what must have happened. I re-capped, scrutinized and double checked everything.'Okenwa's desire for the truth dates back to his childhood days. On one occasion, he had returned money he made from Christmas Carol to the Catholic Priest in his parish. This tread of honesty has since come to define his character, to the extent that he is now being referred to as the Good Samaritan.In a letter of appreciation by the Nigerian Consulate General in South Africa, Charles Onwuagbu, the Nigerian High Commission expressed gratitude for Okenwa's display of honesty. Wrote Onwuagbu: 'I wish to inform you with deep pride and admiration that I received from ABSA Bank here in Johannesburg, South Africa, your display of the highest level of integrity, honesty and tact by returning a huge sum arising from excess payment to you running into thousands of Rands.'I should indicate that this singular act of yours leaves me in no doubt as to your remarkable level of integrity and honesty, which reflects the attributes of the institution you represent, ACB International Bank PLC. Please keep it up; the sky is your limit. It is my sincere expectation that this strength of character, by Almighty God, will lead you to the height of your career in the banking industry,' he said.In another memo acknowledging the receipt of the letter from the consulate, the Regional Manager of ACB, Obidi Ume said: 'We have received a letter signed by the Consul General in South Africa, Hon. Charles Onwuagbu in which your sterling qualities of honesty and integrity evidenced by your decision to return a huge overpayment by a South African Bank was aptly highlighted.'The memo further read: 'I have met Dr. Edwin Ijeoma, a Nigerian professional working at NEPAD Secretariat, South Africa who confirmed that your exemplary conduct helped magically in reducing the negative image and publicity South Africans have come to associate with Nigerians living there'.Currently, Zenith where Okenwa works waxes strong in the transparency brand going by the fact that at a time many Nigerian banks competing with it in the AA category went under, it passed the stress test and has long recorded tripple digit profits. It is the likes of Okenwa in the bank that have given it the brand name of the bank that stays with you even in times of distress.Categorically, for Okenwa, a doctorate holder in Business Administration whose inciting doctoral research work: Executive Massaging: A transformational Leadership Imperative, has been turned intoa book, that singular decision to root for truth has now resulted in a festival of accolades and celebration for him. It also says a lot that Nigeria's image would be better if its citizens imbibe honesty in all their endeavours. While it's germane to create awareness on the need to shun corruption and project Nigeria in good image, the likelihood of achieving such objectives lies squarely on citizens' characters rather than sermon and preachment.In the case of Okenwa, he decided to show Nigeria's goodness instead of preaching it. The result is there for all to see. As they say, a good name is better than riches.
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