As I have gotten older I have become interested in watching Good Morning America on ABC each morning. When I am working and driving on the road I tune in on the radio. On morning back in June of 2005 a gentleman named Marty Johnson appeared on the show. He had searched for his biological father. When he embarked on his search, he knew it would change his life but he really wasn’t prepared for the letter he received at the end of his search.

The letter read "Welcome to the Ogike dynasty!" "You come from a noble and prestigious family." Marty was born after a relationship developed between his mother a CA college student and a gentleman who came to the States from Nigeria to study for a master’s degree in education. Marty was given up for adoption and raised by a family in Minnesota.

This story line of coursed peaked my interest as being adopted myself and my involvement in the mortgage industry. The other common factor between myself and Marty was that he is also a mortgage broker. At any rate, he was pretty uninterested in searching for his birth parents but it was his wife and children that encouraged him to look.

Marty’s birth mother actually found him first and after that reunion is when Marty started to search for his birth father. Then the letter mentioned above came revealing that his birth father was the chief of Aboh villiage in Nigeria which was considered royalty in that part of the world. In addition, as the chiefs first born son, Marty was in line to inherit the revered traditional leadership position. Marty made the 6200 mile trip to meet the family he never knew. When he met his biological father he was stunned and gave him a hug. He described it as “an amazing feeling in my heart.”

Marty described the situation as people were dancing in the driveway and there were all of these relatives, cousins, and uncles and all these people that Marty has never met in his entire life treating him as though he was some kind of miracle. Marty also met six siblings, his step mother, aunts, unless, and cousins. He visited the school his grand father founded and met with the village elders.

Marty is recognized as the next traditional leader of the village and when his birth father dies, he will choose a chief name like his father did. One day Marty’s son who is currently 6 years old may do the same one day.

Marty also has a daughter. Marty’s son’s reaction simply said “oh” and his daughter is proud to be a princess. When asked if they will move to Nigeria Marty responded that he is still learning much about this and he doesn’t necessarily have plans to move there but I’d like to be there and he’d like to go there often if he could.