Nigerian singer Segun Johnson has opened up about his childhood, revealing that he was raised by a single mother and initially grew up disliking his father based on the version of events he heard from his mother.
Johnson made the disclosure while discussing his upbringing and his parents’ separation. He explained that some of his earliest memories were connected to leaving his father’s home with his mother and younger sister.
According to the singer, he was about four years old when his mother left his father’s house with the children. That experience, combined with the account he received from his mother while growing up, shaped his perception of his father during his childhood.
‘I grew up under a single mother’
Johnson recalled that his childhood was largely spent under the care of his mother after his parents separated.
He said one of the memories that remained with him was seeing his mother carrying him and his younger sister as they left his father’s home.
That experience became an important part of how he understood his family situation as a child.
“I grew up not liking my Dad because of the version of story my mom told me about him and what I saw as a kid,” Johnson said.
He explained that, as a young child, he naturally viewed the situation through the information available to him at the time.
The singer said he consequently struggled to understand his father and questioned his place in his life.
His perception changed after hearing his father’s side
Johnson said his understanding of his father changed significantly after he eventually heard his father’s own account of what had happened.
Rather than relying solely on the story he had grown up hearing, Johnson was able to listen to his father's perspective before his death.
That conversation, he said, helped him appreciate that the circumstances surrounding his parents’ separation were more complicated than he had understood as a child.
“I was lucky to hear my father’s version of the story then I came to understand why what happened actually happened,” he said.
The singer’s reflection highlights how childhood experiences can shape a person's understanding of family conflicts, particularly when children encounter only one side of a dispute between their parents.
For Johnson, hearing his father’s perspective later in life provided additional context that he did not have when he was younger.
Johnson discusses his father’s polygamous background
In the same discussion, Johnson spoke about his father’s polygamous family background and how he came to understand his father’s decisions differently as he grew older.
He said his father was polygamous and suggested that his father’s mentality at the time was influenced by the desire among some African men to have male children.
Johnson explained that, from his later perspective, his mother was not necessarily the only woman to experience such circumstances in his father’s household.
He said he eventually realised that his mother had followed a path similar to that of other women who had previously been part of his father’s family.
The singer's comments were framed as his personal understanding of his family's history rather than as a broader judgment about all African families.
A childhood view shaped by what he saw
Johnson's story also illustrates how children can form strong opinions about their parents based on what they personally witness and what they are told during formative years.
As a young child, he did not have the maturity or information required to understand the circumstances behind his parents’ separation. His memories were therefore shaped by his mother's account and the events he personally witnessed.
That eventually influenced his relationship with his father.
Johnson said he once viewed his father negatively because, from his childhood perspective, the circumstances appeared straightforward. However, hearing his father's account later allowed him to reconsider that view.
His experience demonstrates the difference between a child's understanding of a family dispute and the fuller picture that may emerge with age and additional information.
The importance of hearing both sides
One of the central themes in Johnson's account is the importance of hearing both sides of a complicated family story.
The singer did not suggest that hearing his father's perspective erased everything he had experienced as a child. Instead, it gave him information that had previously been missing from his understanding.
That additional perspective allowed him to place his childhood memories within a broader context.
Johnson's reflection is particularly significant because family conflicts can often be remembered differently by the people involved. Children who grow up during parental separation may have only a limited understanding of the circumstances, while parents may carry experiences and motivations that are not immediately visible to them.
As Johnson's story shows, those perspectives can sometimes emerge only years later.
Growing beyond childhood perceptions
Johnson's comments also reflect a broader process of growing older and reassessing experiences from childhood.
The singer's initial dislike of his father was connected to how he interpreted the events surrounding his parents' separation. But after hearing his father's account, he said he was able to understand why certain things happened.
That change in perspective did not necessarily alter the facts of his childhood. Instead, it changed the way he interpreted those facts.
For Johnson, maturity brought an opportunity to revisit an experience that had shaped his relationship with his father.
His story is a reminder that people can sometimes gain a different understanding of their family history as they become adults and acquire information that was unavailable to them as children.
A personal story about family, memory and perspective
Johnson's disclosure adds a personal dimension to the singer's public image, showing that his childhood was shaped by family separation and the experience of growing up with a single mother.
His account also demonstrates how complicated family histories can become simplified in a child's mind.
The singer's ability to hear his father's side of the story ultimately gave him an opportunity to reconsider a relationship he had viewed negatively for much of his childhood.
Rather than presenting his early perception as the complete story, Johnson acknowledged that his understanding had been influenced by what he had been told and what he had personally witnessed.
His reflection therefore centres less on assigning blame and more on the importance of understanding circumstances from multiple perspectives.
For Johnson, hearing his father's story provided that missing perspective and helped him understand his family's past in a way he could not have done as a young child.
