A Gambian-Italian national has been reunited with his wallet containing €340 and vital documents after misplacing it on the busy Banjul/Barra route.
The recovery was made possible thanks to the efforts of Niumi FM, a private-based radio station in Essau, North Bank Region.
Ibrahim Keita, a resident of Njaba-Kunda in the Baddibu area, expressed gratitude to the management of Niumi FM, particularly the station’s General Manager, Ousman A. Marong, for what he described as an act of honesty and patriotism.
Keita said he had little hope of recovering the wallet once he noticed it was missing, especially because it contained cash. More than the money, he said, he was concerned about the critical documents inside, including his Italian residency permit, ATM card, and driver’s license.
“I thought I would never see the wallet again simply because it contains money,” Keita told JollofNews during the handover. “I was thinking the person who must have found it would only take out the money and throw the rest. It would have taken me months to replace those documents in Dakar before I could return to Italy.”
The wallet was found and handed over to Niumi FM, whose staff worked to track down the rightful owner. After verifying the contents, they were able to reach Keita and return the wallet intact.
Ousman A. Marong, the General Manager of Niumi FM, said returning the wallet was a matter of personal ethics and upbringing.
“Sooner or later we will all die. I would have been a thief had I thrown away the wallet and pocketed the money,” Marong said. “My parents taught me to be content and to stay away from things that are not mine.”
Marong recalled a childhood experience that left a lasting impression on him.
“I once found D5 in my father’s house when he was away in Dakar. I spent it, and when my mother found out, she beat me for not telling her. Since then, I’ve made it a principle to return anything I find until the rightful owner is located.”
