Update: Why I Abandoned My Kids For 8years- Run Away Father.

The man who abandoned his three children when the youngest was just 2yrs and others 5yrs and 6yrs respectively  in a boarding school for eight years now in Abule-Iroko in Ado-Odo Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State, Mr Segun Adepegba, on Wednesday, reached out to PUNCH Metro.

Mr. Segun Adepegba blame his actions on the hardship he was facing, has he had no home or any means of taking care of the kids after their mother left,  but however promised to visit the kids 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.

 

More after the cut.

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.”

due to accuring bill 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.

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.”