In a time when stories of fraud, corruption and moral compromise dominate public conversations, the story of Comrade Vincent Nnaemeka Nwogbodo shines as a rare reminder that integrity is still alive.
The Secretary of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Ebonyi State chapter, Comrade Nwogbodo was recently celebrated by the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria, PCN Trinity Parish, Abakaliki, with an Award of Excellence for his honesty in returning an excess ₦274,000 POS transfer to a young trader in Anambra State.
The award, tagged Award of Recognition and subtitled Pillar of Support, placed Nwogbodo in the same category with aides to the governor, local government chairmen, philanthropists and other prominent personalities. For him, the recognition was both humbling and challenging.
“I didn’t know anyone was watching the little, little midas touch we are giving to the society,” Nwogbodo said after receiving the award. “To be honoured alongside men of timber and calibre was stunning. I am humbled, and I feel challenged to put my steps even more in the right direction," he further stated.
The story that set him apart began quietly with a financial mistake. A trader in Nibo, Anambra State mistakenly transferred ₦274,000 to Nwogbodo’s account through a POS transaction.
At a time when economic hardship has forced many into desperation, keeping the money would have raised few eyebrows. But for Nwogbodo, the decision was simple: return it.
“Some people said the money was small. But I told them: he who returns ₦5,000 can return ₦5 million. He who does not return ₦2,000 cannot return ₦200 million,” he explained.
“It’s all about conscience and consciousness. My father raised me to live by the highest ethics of truth and morality," he hinted.
His decision quickly spread on social media, drawing admiration from many Nigerians who described it as a model of integrity. In Anambra, he was celebrated by community members who had witnessed his unusual act of conscience.
At the award ceremony, Nwogbodo went beyond recounting the story of the POS incident. Instead, he used the platform to talk about his life philosophy: planting people.
Drawing inspiration from an old proverb often quoted by planners, he explained: “If you are planning for a year, plant rice. If you are planning for decades, plant trees. But if you are planning for life, plant human beings. I have chosen to plan for life by planting human beings.”
True to those words, Nwogbodo announced a scholarship for Emmanuel, a young boy in the parish who lost his father in an accident two years ago and had dropped out of school due to hardship.
“I don’t know him from Adam, he said, “but the spiritual controls the physical. When the award was announced, I felt I had nothing too tangible to give, so I decided to give hope to the hopeless. I offered a scholarship to Emmanuel, from primary to secondary school. And by God’s grace, I will extend it as far as university.”
The announcement reportedly moved the audience to silence before drawing applause.
For Nwogbodo, the recognition also ties back to a piece of advice he received in 2016 during the “Go and Collect Your PVC” campaign. At the time, Reverend Father Felix Akam told him: “Vincent, continue to put the points; one day it will form a line.”
Looking back, he believes the clergyman’s words were prophetic.
“When this award came, I remembered Father Akam’s advice. Maybe this is part of the line forming. It is a challenge to me to continue walking in the right direction.”
Beyond awards and recognition, Nwogbodo insists that his motivation lies in lifting others.
“When you lift one soul, that soul will lift another. It takes nothing from a candle to light another. That is what I believe,” he said.
He added that his life is guided by what he calls the three laws of nature:
The law of homogeneous attraction — like attracts like.
The law of retributive action — whatever you give, you shall receive.
The law of gravity — whatever goes up must come down.
To him, these simple natural principles, backed by Biblical wisdom, are enough to guide a meaningful life.
Nwogbodo’s story has quickly become a reference point in discussions about integrity in Nigeria. For youths, he offers clear advice: “Abide by natural and moral laws. Seek and you shall find, knock and the door will open. Live by lifting others. That is the secret to fulfillment.”
In a country where public trust is often eroded by corruption scandals and self-interest, the recognition of Comrade Vincent Nnaemeka Nwogbodo has struck a chord. His honesty in returning ₦274,000 may appear a small act, but it carries a larger message: integrity is not about the amount involved, but about the principle.
By choosing conscience over convenience, and by investing in human lives rather than material things, Nwogbodo has shown that honour and service remain timeless virtues.
As he himself put it: “Neither gold nor silver have I, but what I have, I give and that is hope.”
