Portable opens up on painful family rift, urges father to return to work

Controversial Nigerian street-pop artiste, Habeeb Okikiola, popularly known as Portable, has sparked widespread reactions after publicly sharing an emotional account of his troubled relationship with his father, accusing him of betrayal, neglect and financial irresponsibility.

In a heartfelt statement that has since gone viral, the singer recounted his difficult childhood, revealing that he lost his mother at the age of 13 and was subsequently sent to Abuja to live with his father.

According to Portable, life with his father was far from supportive, as he alleged that despite having multiple wives and children, his father refused to sponsor his education.

Portable disclosed that it was his aunt—his father’s sister—who took full responsibility for his secondary school education, paying his school fees throughout the period when his father allegedly turned his back on him.

After completing secondary school, the artiste said he learned tailoring and hustled tirelessly to survive before eventually gaining admission into a polytechnic. Even then, he claimed the disparity in parental care persisted, noting that his elder brother, who attended the same institution, received financial support from their father because his mother was alive, while he was ignored.

Reflecting on the emotional toll, Portable admitted that the absence of fatherly love left deep scars, but he chose forgiveness over resentment as he grew older.

The singer, however, said the situation took a dramatic turn after he achieved fame in the Nigerian music industry. He alleged that his father stopped working, relocated from Abuja and began making constant financial demands on him.

Portable revealed that, despite his own struggles as a young man trying to secure the future of his children, he had bought his father a car, given him substantial funds to build a house and continued to support his father’s other children.

Questioning his father’s dependence, the artiste argued that age should not be an excuse for idleness, citing business moguls Aliko Dangote and Femi Otedola as examples of elderly men who are still actively working.

“I want my children to pray for me in the future and say I took good care of them,” Portable said, stressing that his priority remains building a secure future for his own family.

He concluded his emotional outburst with a blunt message to his father, urging him to return to work and be self-reliant rather than placing continued financial pressure on him.

The revelation has ignited intense debate on social media, with Nigerians divided over issues of parental responsibility, forgiveness, and the expectations placed on successful children to shoulder lifelong family burdens.