Chief Michael Obi, the father of Super Eagles Captain, John Mikel Obi, confirms he and his son are not on speaking terms, and appears to blame the rift on Mikel’s fame.

” When he first joined Chelsea, my people in Anambra were very happy that God has blessed their son, and when he came to Abuja, they prepared very well with the hope that he will come to our hometown. They even made some magazines. It was grand. But he didn’t come. It was a shameful thing to me, as a father. He once told his brother that sometimes he picks his phone to call me, but something tells him not to.

” It is an issue, but we don’t know what to do, said an emotional Chief Michael Obi, in an interview with Daily Trust.

” It’s over five years now without a phone call from him to me. But he communicates with his mother.

” There is nothing I have not done to fix it. God has told me that I should not feel hurt. When we start to talk about it, I say, ‘Well, as long as I see him on TV, doing great, no problem’.

He said he is yet to see his grandchildren.

” Sometime last year, he was to bring them so that I could name them, he said he would. But he didn’t. His other colleagues frequent home, so I don’t understand.

” During the just-concluded World Cup, one or two days to one of their matches, we spoke. He called his mum, and she told me that Nchekwube (Mikel) was on the phone and I told him that God will see him through. I prayed for him. That’s it.

Pa Obi, 74, said kidnappers think Mikel send millions to him, hence the reason for his kidnap.