Fahim Saleh: Gokada, envy and a lesson on entitlement
The gruesome murder of Tech entrepreneur Fahim Saleh seized the world by surprise last week. A young, brilliant and successful man in his prime, who had invested in Nigeria was found decapitated and dismembered in his apartment in a luxury condominium building on Manhattan’s lower east side on Tuesday last week. For those who have never heard of him prior to his murder, Fahim Saleh, a New York tech wiz, was the founder of the popular motorcycle ride sharing appGokada which functioned mainly in Lagos. The company was founded in 2019, but suffered a setback after motorcycles were banned in many parts in the city of Lagos. The company, however, this year shifted its focus to food and package delivery.
By the end of the week, the New York Times broke the story of an arrest- his personal assistant of 5 years, Tyrese Devon was being charged with his murder. And while a jury is yet to indict him, the facts confirmed are that, he followed him from the elevator and hit him with a taser thereby immobilizing him. The motive for the killing is simple as it is timelesstheft. Employees have been stealing from business from time immemorial and therefore, thankfully, is not limited to Nigeria. The 21-year-old personal assistant had stolen up to $90,000 from his boss and when discovered, the Tech CEO had not only refrained reporting him to the police, but had set up a repayment plan for him to return the money over a period of time.
My Hausa people have a saying: ‘In kaga mutum a rana, ka bar shi a rana’
Growing up, I used to think this phrase as unkind, callous even, until I encountered some situations that made me think otherwise. I realised that the person who coined this proverb was speaking from a place of deep hurt and disappointment. I have since grown wiser.
On the street where I live, there is a very rich businessman who gives out his yearly Zakat (tithe) during Ramadan. A fixed amount of money is given to every poor household in the area every year for as long as I have lived there. Understandably, this year, perhaps due to the pandemic, the zakat was not shared during the Ramadan. People started to grumble and complain. My plumber, said to my hearing, that he was going to demand that their money be shared to them. Your money? Yes, he replied. ‘God gave him his wealth and so we are entitled to his zakat’ he retorted. I tried to reason with him that maybe the man had been hit by the pandemic and so was not financially buoyant to give Zakat. His reply? That he should sell one of his numerous cars and give them their money. That he was not experiencing hard times, after all his house boy had told him that they still ate chicken and fish for Iftar. The conversation chilled me to my bones. This month, the businessman continued his ritual and shared his zakat as usual. I wish I had told him to give other people.
Fahim’s story is not new and it breeds from a basic human emotion- envy. Why should he be my employer? Why should she be better off than me? What does he have that I don’t? Why shouldn’t I take some of his money? He makes hundreds of thousands of Dollars/Naira, why should he bother because I took a little? After all, God had done for her, is it because of this meagre N500,000 that I stole, that she should be shouting? After all, did we not do the work together? How can he be paying me N30,000 while he is earning N300,000?
And why not? People need to understand that other people’s wealth is not their own. If they decide to give you, then fine. Until then, stick to the employment contract or leave. Chances are, if Tyrese was given Fahim’s position, he would not have made it what it is today. The ‘Why not me?’ mentality as well as the ‘With all his/her money, is this all he/she is giving me?’ narrative has to stop. The danger in this seemingly innocent phrase is that it leads to envy, which without a firm moral foundation will lead to stealing. Later, the person starts to justify their stealing with a sense of entitlement and before long they are caught. Nemesis, such as it is. We need to teach our children contentment and gratitude; and that in life, some stars will always shine brighter than others.
Rest in Peace, Fahim Saleh.