What If I Found a Politician’s Lost Fortune?

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On your way to your minimum wage job, you find a suitcase containing $500,000. You later hear that one of the richest politicians in your country has lost his suitcase, and the description matches the one you found. What would you do?

To be very honest, a lot of people might try to sound noble here. They’ll say money doesn’t bring happiness or that the right thing to do is to return the money, no matter who it belongs to. But if I’m being real with myself—and with you—I can’t say that. At this point in my life, money would bring me a lot of happiness. And I don’t even mean that in a greedy or selfish way. There are so many things I need to sort out for myself and my family. I’ve been holding back on dreams, delaying plans, and constantly telling myself “not now” all because of one thing—money.

So, let’s imagine that one day I’m walking down the road and I find this mysterious suitcase. Out of curiosity, I open it, and I’m staring at what looks like a life-changing $500,000 in cash. My heart would probably skip a time. Later that day, the news starts flying around that a very wealthy politician “accidentally” lost a suitcase and, of course, it matches the exact one I found.

At that moment, I would pause and ask myself: if this belonged to a regular citizen—just another normal Nigerian like me—would I return it? Maybe I would. But the fact that it belongs to a politician… ah, that changes everything.

See, I don’t consider myself a greedy or wicked person. I try to live my life with integrity, and I believe i was raised with strong values. But in this specific case? I wouldn’t return the money. And it’s not because I want to “steal” from someone else. It’s because I honestly believe that money wasn’t earned rightfully in the first place.

Let’s not pretend—Nigerian politicians are among the most corrupt people in the world. Many of them get into office with sweet promises and do absolutely nothing once they get there. They loot budgets meant for schools, roads, hospitals, and jobs, and then use that money to fund lavish lifestyles for their families while the average Nigerian struggles to eat twice a day. We’ve all seen it: their children driving expensive cars, vacationing abroad, throwing millions at parties—meanwhile our roads are death traps and students sit at home because lecturers are on strike.

If I found that money, I wouldn’t just pocket it for myself. I would use it for something meaningful—help my parents, invest in myself, maybe even give some to charity or struggling people around me. I would rather that money go into something useful than return it to a politician who would probably waste it on luxury or hoard it in a foreign account.

It might sound wrong to some people. But for me? Keeping that money would feel more right than giving it back to someone who most likely got it by hurting millions of people like me.

Thanks for reading.