WHY I ABANDONED MY KIDS FOR EIGHT YEARS-FATHER

Why I abandoned my kids for eight years –Father

OCTOBER 23, 2014
BY TOLUWANI ENIOLA


Mr Segun Adepegba, the father of the three
children abandoned in a boarding school for
eight years in Abule-Iroko in Ado-Odo Ota
Local Government Area of Ogun State, Mr
Segun Adepegba, on Wednesday, reached
out to PUNCH Metro .
Adepegba said hardship pushed him to the
wall and that was why he could not take care
of his children. He, however, promised to visit
them before the end of the week.
The father of three, in a telephone interview
with PUNCH Metro , recounted his ordeal,
saying, “life has been very tough for me.” He
said he left the children because he was
jobless and had no house to accommodate
them.
PUNCH Metro had on Tuesday reported that
Adepegba’s children-Seun, 14, Titilola 13,
and Seyi, 10, had been abandoned since
2007 at Solid Rock Model College in Abule-
Iroko. The children, who had been eager to
meet their parents, said the absence of their
parents was affecting their studies.
For many years, the school authorities had
been trying to reach Adepegba to no avail.
The proprietor of the school, Mr Samuel
Ayegbusi, had told our correspondent that
any time he called Adepegba and he realised
it was him, he would switch off his phones.
Adepegba, however, bowed to pressure on
Tuesday after reading the report by PUNCH
Metro . He told our correspondent that
abandoning his children was inevitable,
promising that he would visit the school.
While narrating his ordeal to our
correspondent, he said, “In 2007, my wife
and I had a misunderstanding and she told
me she was leaving me. I was frustrated and
the children were little. Seyi, the youngest
was just two years while Titilola was just five.
“There was no way I could give them
motherly care. I had no job. As a man, I
needed someone to help me take care of
them and that was why my sister suggested
that we enrol them in a boarding school.”
Adepegba told PUNCH Metro that when the
children’s bills kept accumulating and he had
no means of paying, he was afraid that if he
came to the school, the proprietor would get
him arrested.
He said, “I feared that if I suddenly appeared
at the school, the proprietor would get the
police to arrest me. I really appreciate the
proprietor of Solid Rock Model College, for
coming to my rescue and accepting the
responsibility to help me take care of my
children. The truth is this: I was pushed to
the wall. I didn’t want my children to be
beggars on the street.
“All these years, I have been jobless. I had
no house to live in. I was putting up with
someone. I just rented a one-room apartment
and just got a job. I am not a wicked father. I
really miss them but I am gradually
overcoming the challenges I have been
facing. I did not abandon them in that sense.
I can assure you that before the week runs
out, I will visit them.”
Asked whether his wife had called him about
how the children were doing, Adepegba said
since she left him in 2007, he had not heard
from her.
“The last time we saw each other was
probably in 2007 when she left me. I have
been trying to reach her but my search has
not been fruitful. I heard that she is
somewhere in the northern part of the
country,” he said.
However, the school proprietor told PUNCH
Metro that the school authorities had no
intention of getting Adepegba arrested for his
debt .He said he reported the matter to the
Ogun State Police Command because he was
fed up.
He said, “I have nothing against Mr
Adepegba and I understand his plight. My
grievance was that he kept on rejecting my
calls and abandoned his children. How could
he as a father leave his children for this long?
It is not a good thing.”
Our correspondent learnt that the news of
their father’s return had lifted the heart of the
children. The children were all smiles when
they were told that their father had promised
to return before the end of the week.
Speaking with PUNCH Metro on the
telephone on Wednesday, Seun, the eldest of
the trio said, “I am very happy that daddy has
promised to come back. It means I would not
have to spend my holidays in the school
again.”
Titilola added, “I hope this is not another
promise that will fail. I am really looking
forward to seeing him because it will make
me very happy.”
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