Nigerian man hailed for rejecting house gift from Indian boss and opting for borehole for his village

A Nigerian security man is being praised for his act of selflessness after rejecting a house as a parting gift from his Indian employer for a borehole for his community.

Musa Usman, who hails from Giljimmi, a Fulani settlement in Birniwa Local Government Area of Jigawa State, has, for 25 years, served his Indian boss, V. Verghese, the managing director of a Lagos-based pharmaceutical company, Jawa International Limited.

The expatriate boss decided to build a house for Usman in appreciation for his hard work and diligence over the years after he announced that he wanted to leave to join his family in the village.

However, Usman, who lives with his family in a thatched house in Birniwa local government area, rejected the officer and rather asked for a borehole to be constructed for his community which has been suffering from acute water shortage.

Drought and conflict are factors behind water scarcity in parts of Nigeria, particularly in the north and northeast, where Boko Haram has waged a violent insurgent campaign.

The situation is the same in the country’s middle belt, where changing rainfall patterns are limiting the grazing area of Muslim Fulani herders.

Usman’s community, Birniwa, which is in Nigeria’s semi-arid zone region, has not been spared from these water shortages, as residents usually walk miles to fetch clean drinking water.

Thanks to the rare selfless gesture by Usman, people in the community now have access to clean drinking water.

Usman’s story has been received with lots of commendation from people on social media. Here are some of the responses: