A heartwarming reunion unfolded as 68-year-old Nigerian man, Joseph Ibironke, who claimed to have spent 30 years abroad and returned home without anything, finally met his son.
John Ibironke, a building contractor from Igbara Oke, Ondo State, and the son of Joseph Ibironke, experienced a long-awaited reunion with his father after years of searching.
Mr Joseph Ibironke
Mr Joseph shared that he spent 9 years in the United Kingdom and 21 years in the United States before finding himself in Nigeria after a mysterious illness.
John, who was only a few months old when his father left Nigeria in 1980, was raised by his mother and an older brother who passed away in 1987. John faced changes when his mother remarried, leading him to live 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.
Reflecting on his journey, John expressed, “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, in hopes of finding 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.
English (US)