Write a story to illustrate the saying: A good name is better than riches.

Answer Details

Chief Obidi was the richest man in Umuoka. His compound of gleaming mansions stood at the centre of the village, and his convoy of cars raised dust on the untarred roads whenever he passed. Yet, behind the glitter, whispers followed him everywhere. It was said that he had built his fortune by cheating traders, seizing the land of widows and bribing his way through every court that dared to question him. Men greeted him aloud but cursed him under their breath.

In the same village lived Mazi Uche, a poor but honest carpenter. His workshop was small and his savings meagre, but no one had ever accused him of a dishonest act. He returned every naira that was overpaid to him, kept faithfully to his promises, and was known far and wide as a man whose word was as firm as iron.

Time, that great judge, soon told the difference between the two men. A change of government brought a determined anti-corruption panel to the state. Chief Obidi's dealings were dragged into the open; his wealth was traced to fraud, and in a single week his mansions were sealed and his accounts frozen. Deserted by the very people who had once flattered him, he fell into disgrace and disease, and died a lonely, broken man. His name became a byword for shame, and mothers warned their children never to walk his crooked path.

Mazi Uche, on the other hand, was invited by a foreign company that was seeking an honest contractor for a large project. His reputation, not his riches, had spoken for him. Overnight, the poor carpenter became a respected businessman, and his children rose to enviable positions, opening every door with the good name their father had left them.

Standing one evening at Chief Obidi's abandoned gate, an old man shook his head and said to the gathering youths, "You have seen it with your own eyes. Wealth wickedly gathered melts like wax, but a good name endures and lifts up even the poor." From that day, the young people of Umuoka understood, beyond all argument, that a good name is truly better than riches.