Ghana's Michael Essien has no father!

Feb 10, 2008

MICHAEL Essien owns a galaxy of the finest cars, a luxurious mansion and spends hundreds of pounds daily when in Ghana. The Chelsea FC midfielder earns £90,000 (sh270m) a week and can undoubtedly afford anything in life.

By Fred Kaweesi
in Accra


MICHAEL Essien owns a galaxy of the finest cars, a luxurious mansion and spends hundreds of pounds daily when in Ghana. The Chelsea FC midfielder earns £90,000 (sh270m) a week and can undoubtedly afford anything in life.

But it is all different for Essien senior, his elderly dad, who lives in a tumbledown mud shack with a shabby tin roof and is currently on a pension of just £15 (45,000) monthly.
James Essien has seen his millionaire son only once in the last 10 years following a family rift.

Essien’s father lives alone in the village of Odoben, an hour’s drive from the town of Bwajiase, where Essien was born.
What went wrong?
The family rift began when Essien’s mother, Aba, divorced James after he refused to give up on his three other wives. After the split, she claimed he had refused to provide for Essien and his sister, Dinah.

James narrated: “She was my fourth wife and we were married for eight years. But when Michael was two she wanted me not to see others, and I said no.”

“I knew I had responsibilities to him as a father and did what I could. But at that time I was a councill tool collector earning about £3 a month and could not afford to.”

He added: “When Essien went to France, he stayed in touch. He sent home money to help me through his mother.”
But as Essien’s star rose the family rift escalated and all offers to James stopped.

Essien Snr. said he is not bitter, but cried out that: “His mother lives in a luxury house but I have nothing, most importantly I do not even have my son.”

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