Nigerian immigrants
A former retail banker in Nigeria has gone viral after recounting how his wife allegedly cut off all contact with him and their four children shortly after the family obtained Canadian permanent residency, leaving him stranded first at a Canadian airport and later living alone and homeless in Lagos for more than a decade.
Francis Ushie said the family received approval for permanent residency in Canada. He resigned from his banking job to prepare for the move. His wife, whom he described as being from Obuloku in Delta State, and their four children travelled ahead of him.
Ushie said he was required to remain in Nigeria temporarily because his bank needed to complete an audit of his position before he could leave.
“I resigned as a banker when the permanent residency came. My wife and children left before me for Canada. I had to stay back in Nigeria because the bank needed to audit my position, so I couldn’t travel with them immediately,” Ushie said in a video interview that has circulated widely on social media.
According to Ushie, once his wife arrived in Canada, she blocked him and refused to share the address where she and the children were staying.
He said he had paid for their passports, flights, and two years’ rent in advance in Canada, hoping the relocation would improve their relationship after earlier marital difficulties, including what he described as infidelity on her part.
In November 2014, Ushie travelled to Calgary, Alberta, arriving at YYC airport. Unable to locate his family and with no address provided, he said he was stranded. Because he held a return ticket, he flew back to Nigeria.
“Unfortunately, when my wife got there she blocked me and didn’t give me the address where she was staying with my children… I was stranded at the airport. That’s airport in Canada, that’s Alberta Calgary,” he recounted.
“So eventually I went to Canada in November 2014 and then I could not locate where my wife was staying with our children.”
Ushie said he later delayed a return to Canada while pursuing compensation from the Lagos State Government over a demolished house and awaiting funds from a business.
He has remained in Nigeria since around 2016, describing himself as living without a companion and in difficult circumstances. He said repeated efforts to reconcile have failed, and that his wife has also prevented the children from communicating with him.
“I’m still ready to reconcile with my wife if she’s willing to do the same. I hope my children get to see this video and know that I suffered to send them to Canada with everything I had. I even resigned from my banking job. Now I’m homeless, suffering and alone,” he said. He added that he is considering writing to Canadian authorities to present his side of the events.
The video of Ushie’s account has drawn significant attention and mixed reactions online, with many expressing sympathy for his situation while others questioned details of the timeline and decisions involved. No independent verification of the wife’s account or response was immediately available.
Ushie’s story highlights the personal risks and family strains that can accompany international migration, particularly when one spouse travels ahead under permanent residency arrangements. He maintains he was a responsible father who made significant financial and professional sacrifices for the family’s relocation.
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