Emotions ran wild on Friday when Segun Adepegba, the father of the three children abandoned in a boarding school in Abule-Iroko, in the Ado-Odo Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State, finally reunited with his children. Adepegba, who visited Solid Rock Model College where they had been abandoned for eight years, was locked in a tight embrace with his children, promising never to leave them again.
Adepegba told his children,
“I am sorry for leaving you, Titi, Seun and Seyi. I am really very sorry. I have missed you all so much. I will not leave you again.”
Many were greatly moved as father and children bonded in what they described as “a mystery and a miracle.” When he arrived, an angry mob was prevented from attacking him when they learnt he was the father of the “abandoned children.” The father of three was accompanied by four friends who pleaded on his behalf, saying that he was a changed person.
A friend of the school proprietor, Mr. Ademola Adeyemi , described Adepegba’s return as a miracle, saying he had held vigils to ensure that he returned. “This has shown that God truly answers prayers, “he said. The news of Adepegba’s arrival attracted passers-by and residents who trooped into the school compound to see him. The students of the school also gathered in groups, discussing the story. They were all smiles seeing their friends reunited with their father.
This moment of joy and reminiscence, however, lasted for a short time as the staff of the school and the residents swooped on Adepegba, blasting him for abandoning his children. A mild drama ensued when an aged sports facilitator in the school, Godfrey Olopele, who sighted Adepegba from the gate, asked,
“Is this the father of the children?” When told it was him, he said, “I have some words for this man. You have not done well. You are very wicked. How could you abandon your children for so long?”
Adepegba swallowed the rebuke in penitence, prostrating himself intermittently before a crowd in the expansive hall of the school.
He said, “I have offended a lot of people. I have offended my children. I have offended Nigerians. I accept all the blame. And I am really very sorry. I understand that what I have done is very wrong.
I was afraid of two things: One was that if I came here, I would be arrested and the second reason was the accumulated debt of the children’s school fees. I reasoned that if I should come to the school, I would be handed over to the police.
“I really miss my children and this time around, I am going to change. I want them to have a good educational background so that they can become important persons in the future. I don’t want them to suffer. I will never leave them again. But all these years, I have been battling with hard times. Things have been very tough for me.
Adepegba, however, promised to visit the children regularly. Although Adepegba’s children were relieved that their father was back, they were still longing to meet their mother. Seun, the eldest, expressed his joy on the fact that he would not have to spend the holidays in the school hostel while Seyi, the youngest, asked her father to buy her a gift.
Titilola said, “I am very excited that my father is back. All I can say is that I am happy. But I want to see my mother too.”
Adepegba told our correspondent that he would look for their mother. He said her name is Ruth Okochi from Ogwashi-Uku in the Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State.
“I know a place she lives in Abuja but I am not sure if she still lives there. I owe it a responsibility to find her for the sake of my children,” he said.
So touching!