Bassey’s Father Reopens Plea for Reunion with Calvin After 18 Years Apart

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, Sports News Tuesday, January 27th, 2026

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Kingsley Ughelumba, father of Super Eagles defender Calvin Bassey, has renewed his public appeal to reconnect with his children, saying he has been separated from them for more than 18 years.

Ughelumba, who hails from Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State, spoke in an emotional interview circulating on social media, where he described the long-standing estrangement from his four sons. He attributed the situation to a breakdown in his relationship with their mother, Ebere Bassey.

This is not the first time Bassey’s father has spoken publicly about the matter. Two years ago, he made a similar appeal, saying he had been cut off from his children’s lives. In his latest remarks, he said he is “dying in silence” and still hopes for reconciliation.

According to Ughelumba, his first three sons, Elvis, Mathew, and Calvin, were born in Italy, while his youngest son, Michael, was born in Ireland. He said the family later lived together briefly in London before marital disagreements led to their separation.

“We had husband-and-wife arguments. I went to work, and before I returned, she had left with the children,” he said.

He claimed their mother only contacted him again in 2017 when the children needed Nigerian passports. “I sent all my documents and bought their flight tickets. When they stayed with me then, I never told them their mum did anything to me,” he added, alleging that communication later stopped.

Bassey’s football career has since taken him across Europe. A product of Leicester City’s youth system, he joined Rangers in 2020 and went on to win the Scottish Premiership and Scottish Cup. In 2022, he moved to Ajax in a record transfer from Rangers, before signing for Premier League side Fulham the following year.

Internationally, Bassey made his Nigeria debut in March 2022 and has gone on to become a regular in the Super Eagles squad, featuring prominently in recent Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.

Earlier in his career, Bassey was sometimes listed under his father’s surname, Ughelumba. However, he later adopted his mother’s surname and has publicly credited her for raising him and his brothers.

“He’s just not in my life… Since I was six, it has been mum and us boys,” Bassey once said in a past interview. “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 recounted attempts to reconnect in recent years. He said he travelled from London to Leicester in 2020, hoping to see his son, and later went to Côte d’Ivoire during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in another effort to reach him.

“I have not seen my children for a long time,” he said. “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.”