The father of Super Eagles defender Calvin Bassey has renewed his emotional call for reconciliation, revealing that he has been separated from his children for almost 20 years and longs to reunite with them.
Kingsley Ughelumba, from Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State, revisited the painful experience in a recent social media interview, stating that he has had little to no meaningful contact with his four sons — including the Fulham defender — for more than 18 years. He attributed the estrangement to the breakdown of his marriage to their mother, Ebere Bassey.
Ughelumba had previously spoken out about the issue two years ago but returned with visible emotion, describing himself as “dying in silence” while still hoping his children would eventually find their way back to him.
He explained that his first three sons — Elvis, Mathew and Calvin — were born in Italy, while the youngest, Michael, was born in Ireland. The family later lived briefly in London before the marriage fell apart.
“We had normal husband-and-wife disagreements,” he said. “I went to work one day, and before I returned, she had left with the children.”
According to him, his former wife only contacted him again in 2017 when the children needed Nigerian passports. He claimed he provided all required documents and paid for their flight tickets, adding that when they stayed with him at the time, he never spoke negatively about their mother.
“She stopped communicating with me after Calvin signed for a football club,” Ughelumba alleged.
Calvin Bassey, a graduate of Leicester City’s academy, rose to prominence at Rangers after joining the Scottish club in 2020, where he won the league and domestic cup. He later secured a €23 million move to Ajax before completing a €22 million transfer to Fulham.
The 26-year-old defender has earned 43 caps for Nigeria and featured at the last two Africa Cup of Nations tournaments. Earlier in his career, he was registered under his father’s surname, Ughelumba, before later adopting his mother’s name — a choice he has previously explained publicly.
“He’s not really been part of my life,” Bassey once said. “Since I was about six, it’s been just my mum and us boys. When I had the chance to put a name on my shirt, I chose my mum’s as a way of saying thank you.”
Ughelumba also spoke about unsuccessful attempts to reconnect, including travelling from London to Leicester in 2020 and later to Abidjan during the 2023 AFCON.
“I haven’t seen my children for a very long time,” he said. “I’ve been suffering quietly. I don’t have issues with my children — it’s the situation with their mother that hurt me. Even if I were a bad person, I could never be one when it comes to my children.”
As of the time of this report, Calvin Bassey has not publicly responded to his father’s claims.