Super Eagles defender, Calvin Bassey’s father pleads again to reunite with children after 18-year separation
Calvin Bassey’s father, Kingsley Ughelumba, has once again appealed for assistance, expressing a desire to reconnect with his four children — including the Super Eagles defender — from whom he says he has been estranged for more than 18 years.
Ughelumba revisited his long-standing plea as he spoke about the emotional pain of being cut off from his children, a situation he blamed on a fallout between himself and their mother, Ebere Bassey.
Two years after first speaking publicly about the separation, Bassey’s father has renewed his appeal, describing himself as “dying in silence” while still holding on to hope for reconciliation.
The Ihiala Local Government Area native in Anambra State explained that his first three sons — Elvis Ughelumba, Mathew Ughelumba and Calvin — were born in Italy, while the youngest, Michael, was born in Ireland. He said the family briefly lived together in London before marital disagreements resulted in their separation.
“We had husband-and-wife arguments. I went to work and before I returned, she had left with the children,” Ughelumba said during a viral social media interview.
“She only reached out in 2017 when my children needed Nigerian passports. I sent all my documents and bought all their flight tickets. When they stayed with me then, I never told them their mum did anything to me. She has muted me since he signed for a football club.”
Bassey, who came through Leicester City’s youth ranks, gained wider recognition after signing for Rangers on a free transfer in July 2020. He made 65 appearances across two seasons, winning both the Scottish Premiership and Scottish Cup.
In July 2022, he completed a €23m move to Ajax, then a club-record sale for Rangers, before joining Fulham a year later for €22m.
The 26-year-old debuted for Nigeria in March 2022 during the 2022 World Cup play-off against Ghana and has since earned 43 caps, becoming a regular figure at the last two Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.
Earlier in his career, Bassey was listed under his father’s surname, Ughelumba, but later adopted his mother’s surname and has frequently credited her support for his success.
“He’s just not in my life — we lived with him, but that was when I was really young,” Bassey once said when asked about his father.
“Since I was six, it has been mum and us boys. I knew that if I got the chance to put my name on the back of a shirt, I wanted it to be my mum’s name—my way of saying thank you.”
Ughelumba also shared accounts of unsuccessful efforts to reunite with his children since 2020.
“I have not seen my children for a long time,” he said.
“During COVID in 2020, I drove all the way from London to Leicester when Calvin was playing there. I wasn’t looking for him because he was a footballer; I wanted to see my first son, but I didn’t have access because their mother had changed everything. I didn’t have their numbers or anything.”
“When I got to Leicester City, the club welcomed me and called Calvin. There was a name I used to call him when he was small—‘Biggy’. When they called him that, he responded immediately.”
“I spoke to him and he gave me an address. When I got there and he saw me, he called his mum and afterwards he changed. He got upset and told me to say whatever I wanted to say and leave. He said he didn’t want to see me again and drove off.”
He further revealed that he travelled from Italy to Abidjan during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in another attempt to see his son.
“During Nigeria vs Angola, a journalist helped link me with the football federation. They gave me tickets and I watched the match. After that, I went to Abuja to try again, but I still didn’t see him,” he said.
“Since then, I have been dying in silence. I don’t have any problems with my children—it’s just their mum that made me feel bad. Even if I am a devil, I can’t be a devil where my children are.”
As at the time this report was filed, the Fulham defender had yet to respond to his father’s claims.
