Son of Nigerian man who returned after 30 years abroad empty handed speaks

Joseph Ibironke, a 68-year-old Nigerian man who claimed to have spent 30 years abroad and returned home empty-handed, finally meets his son.

After years of searching, John Ibironke, a building contractor from Igbara Oke, Ondo State, and the son of Joseph Ibironke, were reunited.

Mr Joseph revealed that he spent 9 years in the United Kingdom and 21 years in the United States before ending up in Nigeria as a result of an unknown illness.

John, on the other hand, stated that he was only a few months old when his father fled Nigeria in 1980. John was raised by his mother and an older brother who died in 1987 when his mother remarried.

Consequently, he lived with his father’s elder brother, Williams Ibironke, in Lagos. Despite knowing little about his father’s life abroad, John perceived him as a successful businessman who cared for his family.

He was quoted as saying: “I had always worried my mother that I needed to find my father, but she didn’t have the time to do that despite my insistence.”

Yearning to reunite with his father, John embarked on a search in 2016, returning to his hometown, Igbara Oke, hoping to find relatives with information about Joseph.

Travelling from Lagos to Ilesa, he met his mother and her new family before proceeding to Igbara Oke. After a fruitless search, John received a call from the son of one of his father’s brothers, revealing Joseph’s return to Nigeria and providing a phone number.

Excited and shocked, John called his father, initiating their first conversation.