Man Who Abandoned Children In School For Eight Years Speaks At Last

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.”