Missing U of R student’s dad looking for answers
REGINA David Chukwudum crossed an ocean to find out what happened to his son.
Chukwudum, the father of Promise “Max” Chukwudum, a 19-yearold University of Regina student who has been missing since Nov. 17, recently travelled from Lagos, Nigeria, to Regina.
“It’s strange to me that my son is missing. I couldn’t believe it in Nigeria, but coming here I see it’s reality,” David said during an interview at the U of R’s campus on Thursday.
On Nov. 14, days before Promise went missing, David spoke to him on video chat while he was visiting China for business. David could see Promise’s hair was starting to get long, and told him he should cut it so it would look nice. He started calling Promise again when he returned to Nigeria on Nov. 18 to see if he got his hair cut, but Promise never returned his calls.
David told Promise’s sister, Chinaza, a student at the University of Saskatchewan, to call her brother, but she didn’t get an answer, either. Once David finally heard his son was missing, he still had to call the Regina Police Service (RPS) from Nigeria to confirm the shocking news.
“I couldn’t believe it,” said David.
Coming to Regina from Africa is a long journey. David first had to fly to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital city. From there, he flew to Toronto and then to Calgary before finally arriving in Regina on Nov. 30. David said he had to make the trip so he could know what happened to Promise.
According to the RPS, Promise was last seen near Marshall Crescent in the Normanview area in the early morning hours of Nov. 17. Police have searched several parts of the city, including the landfill outside Regina. They are still investigating his disappearance.
The U of R has been providing Chinaza and David with accommodations, food and counselling services during their stay in Regina. They’ve spoken with police almost every day, but so far there have been no developments. Chinaza said police told her they can’t share every detail with them because it could compromise the investigation.
After Promise finished secondary school in Nigeria, he told his father that he wanted to follow his older sister’s footsteps and come to Canada to study. Promise was in his second year of computer science at the U of R, and also played for the university’s rugby team.
“He was pretty excited about coming here because he loved sports, like football, and he joined the rugby team here. So yeah, he really liked it here from my perspective,” said Chinaza.
Chinaza and David have kept busy by speaking with Promise’s friends and his manager at Fatburger, where he worked. They hope doing so will lead them to some crucial clue that can help police. They’ve also organized a community search for Promise in Wascana Park on Saturday beginning at noon outside the Royal Saskatchewan Museum. Residents are invited to take part.
David has been speaking with Promise’s mother every day since he came to Regina, telling her to be calm and that Promise will be found. David is asking members of the public who may have information about what happened to his son to contact police or Crime Stoppers.
“We want Promise to come back so that the family will be complete again,” he said.