Skip to main content

𝗔 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗸


Two weeks into my stay at USTB, I met Jack at the badminton court. He was a Chinese undergraduate who came over and asked if I could team up with him for doubles. That was exactly what I had been waiting for, so I agreed. We warmed up on the side court before stepping on to face the other players. After eliminating a few opponents, I ended up costing us our second round at the very last point. Jack was clearly the stronger player. Obviously fromsomeone who had been playing since childhood. He spoke English and was very kind. We had a conversation afterwards and I left earlier because I had an online class to attend.


About a week later, our school held a cultural festival. While I was standing at the Nigerian booth in my "Babban riga" handing out Nigerian seal stickers and helping visitors place them on their world map papers, Jack appeared. I immediately recognised him and called him by his name. He remembered me too. I gave him the sticker before we took a picture together and exchanged WeChat, then he left.


Not long after, he called to ask if I was still at the event. I told him I had stepped away for a moment. He said he had a gift for me. I thought to myself, “That’s one of those oyibo things. A gift, what for?” When I returned, I found him waiting at our booth with his friend.


“I’m happy you recognised me" he said, handing me a sheet filled with the stickers he had collected from every booth. To get them, he had visited each stand one by one. That simple gesture carried more meaning than I expected. Remembering him and calling him by his name had left a strong impression on him. I even asked him to sign his name on the paper to compliment and have a proper documentary of it.




It made me reflect deeply on how little things matter to people. A small gesture can carry weight in someone’s heart. And that’s how it is in the sight of Allah too.


"…you thought it was insignificant, while it was, in the sight of Allah, tremendous."

 — Qur’an.



Yusuf Usman

28th Sept 2025

Beijing, China.


Comments

  1. Abdulmuiz KasimSeptember 28, 2025 at 12:29 PM

    Ma Sha Allah. 💯

    That's really interesting ☺️


    It's good to be good and it's bad to be bad 🙌

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

𝐀 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐌𝐮𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐮 𝐁𝐮𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢

The passing of President Muhammadu Buhari was received with shock across Nigeria. Even to his critics, it evoked mixed emotions. The former President lived a life marked by personal integrity and admirable character, acknowledged even by those who opposed him. Personally, my most enduring memory of him will be his democratic administration. It shaped my understanding of governance in Nigeria, especially as someone who grew up with the stories of his character and honesty. His picture stickers, often inscribed with "Mai Gaskiya" & "General Muhammadu Buhari", were everywhere — on plates, pots, and even torchlights. He was seen far more than just a politician. During the 2015 general elections, Nigeria was electrified with the anticipation of change. It was a transformative period for our political landscape. As a young citizen which was then ineligible to vote, I was still immersed in the excitement and optimism surrounding the elections. We all wanted for him to...
Post a Comment
Read more

2. CHANGE TROUBLESHOOT

You need a little observation to see that we are not far different from the leaders that we constantly criticise (maybe even worse than them). That doesn't make an excuse to their menace. The point is, the normal injustice or corruption that happens in our locals which we labelled as "favor" or "alfarma" is the same that happens at the top level, just that the threshold and frequencies are different. If we always scold our leaders for differing common sense in making policies, do we also question the common social vices around us? The concept of having an ideal state is as fallable as being an atheist. Leaders are responsible with making laws and orders, but are they gotten from Mars? The local mechanic that destroy a different component of his customer car after handing it to him for repair (so that he'll return for another repair) may be a Minister in the future. The replica of his actions will continue, but this time, the consequences will be felt by the ...
Post a Comment
Read more