Richard Moses had mixed feelings after he was posted to the capital city of Abuja for the mandatory National Youth Service Corps, or NYSC, largely because he was out of touch with his friends and family.
“Before I came to Abuja, I had issues with my phone, and I was struggling communication-wise, among others. As a young man, especially in this period, you will be depressed because you cannot communicate even with family as a youth corper who is serving the fatherland in Abuja,” he said.
Coupled with his lack of a phone, Richard’s monthly NYSC allowance could hardly meet Abuja’s high cost of living. Out of desperation, he approached a phone shop, hoping to get a phone on credit with his certificates as collateral.
“In this state of hopelessness, I was angry and frustrated and in my frustration, one Saturday morning I picked up a book – Rhapsody of Reality and read. After reading my faith was stirred up and felt I should go and get a new phone but I didn’t have the money. I proposed in my mind to carry my certificate as collateral for the exchange of a phone so I could call home.”
“At this period I was hungry; slept hungry and woke up hungry because I had no money and no phone to communicate with friends and family. On my way to one of the phone shops along the Nyanya-Mararaba axis, I was wondering right inside me how I was going to do it without money,” he said, prophesying that, “I kept going, I didn’t know why. I entered a shop and asked the man how much for a particular button phone and he said ten thousand. I asked for the last price and he replied N9,700.”
“He asked me how much I was going to pay. At this point I told him I didn’t have money; tears started rolling down my chin. He asked me if I had come to buy a phone and I didn’t have money, what should we do? Along the line, we entered into a conversation about life, and family among others and he started advising me. He told me not to exchange my certificate for something as small as a phone because I have laboured for it for years.
“To cut a long story short, after a long discussion, he removed a new button phone and gave to me free of charge. I was surprised and didn’t know what to do at that point. Though I did not want to take but he encouraged me to collect. I collected it and said I can go. For about two good minutes I couldn’t say anything because of the surprise; I was dumbfounded. Can this be true? He insisted that I take it and go that God has given it to me.”
The young corps member continued: “He didn’t even know my name and I didn’t even know his name, it was until after he had given me the phone he now asked for my name. I still believe Nigerians are still giving, loving, and kind. We shouldn’t go out there with the perception that people are wicked. This taught me that one can still receive acts of kindness from friends, neighbours, and even strangers because this man was totally a stranger whom I didn’t know from anywhere or have a relationship with.
“The only form of relationship with him was a stranger relationship; he didn’t even know if I was a spirit or not but purely out of kindness I will not forget in my lifetime. Up till today, I have been enjoying the phone because I have been calling my family and loved ones to know how I’m faring and vice versa.”
Richard resolved to give a testimony in church after the phone gift. While many of his church members wondered at the stroke of good fortune, the pastor of the church also promised him an Android smartphone to keep up with the Internet.
“I gave this testimony in church, and the church picked interest. The pastor asked what I studied and I said computer science. He asked how the church can be of help to you. I told him I know social media management, affiliate marketing, and other things about the Internet. A few weeks passed and one day, the pastor called me and asked what kind of phone I wanted to use or how much for a good phone. My reply was that I did not know, and that was it.
“Two days before a Sunday, he called me with my small act of kindness button phone, saying that they were going to get me a phone. Well, for me, I felt it was one of those cruises because my mind was not fixed to it. However, I applied little faith to it as well. The Sunday I went to church with friends and after the service, he called me and gifted me with an Android phone – Itel A7, 8gb RAM, 128G ROM.”
Richard was filled with delight soon after his testimony, and he resolved to be of help to anyone in need of it however the circumstances.
“This is a church I am barely six weeks old; apart from going to Sunday service, I do not go to the weekly activities nor am I a worker. For me, this is another act of kindness from the church and pastor. Forget about spirituality or hearing the voice of God. I believe it came from his own heart because other people are serving in one capacity or the other or showing one level of dedication.
“Again, he is another Nigerian who has shown me kindness between December and January. This has again taught me that every day of your life, show one or more kindness and I have been training to imbibe that too each day no matter when, where, and who. By this, our society, Nigeria, and the world will be better for all.”
