The Death Of The Gospel Singer Olayemi Bolaji, Known As Toluwanisings, Has Produced Allegations That He Was Taken To Seven Or Eight Hospitals In Ibadan Without Receiving Emergency Treatment, With His Personal Assistant Saying Some Hospitals Said Doctors Were On Strike And Others Rejected Him, The University College Hospital Saying Its Local Strike Had Been Suspended And That It Has No Record Of Him Being Brought In, The Oyo State Commissioner For Health Saying She Did Not Know Of The Matter And The Commissioner For Information Not Responding, While The Nigerian Medical Association Says Hospitals That Cannot Manage A Case Should Refer Rather Than Reject And Calls For A Paramedical Emergency Response System The Country Does Not Have
![](https://thenigerialawyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/2026-IDRI-Masterclass.png")
The gospel singer Olayemi Bolaji, known to his audience as Toluwanisings, has died after collapsing, and his death has produced allegations that hospitals in Ibadan failed to provide him with emergency treatment.
His personal assistant, Babadunni Olayemi, gave this account.
“They took him to different hospitals. Some said the doctors were on strike, while others said he was rejected at the hospitals. We all tried, praying for him and taking him around to hospitals. We took him to about seven or eight different hospitals here in Ibadan, but God said it was his time.”
Some commentators linked the reported difficulty in obtaining care to a strike by resident doctors at the University College Hospital, Ibadan. The hospital’s Public Relations Officer, Funmilayo Enitan, said services had resumed.
“The hospital is running its services. The strike was a local one within the hospital; it was not a national strike. I was not aware that he was brought to UCH. I was not officially informed that he was brought to UCH. There was no record of it with the management.”
The Oyo State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi, contacted on Friday, said she did not know about the matter.
“Which gospel artiste? I don’t know the gospel artiste that died recently.”
The state Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade, neither answered calls nor responded to a message.
Toluwanisings was born in Ikirun, Osun State, and grew up in a Muslim family, known then as Sodiq, before converting to Christianity. His conversion marked a turning point in his life and his music.
He had spent years pursuing a career in fuji music before turning to gospel, blending contemporary gospel with Yoruba musical influences, and built a following among lovers of energetic praise songs. He spoke about his background and his early fuji career in an interview with the actress Biola Adebayo on her podcast, and acknowledged the part his wife played in supporting his move to gospel music.
He studied Estate Management and Valuation at Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, graduating in 2017, and continued with music.
A family source said he had struggled to finance his education, that he lost his mother early and that his father later remarried, and that he had helped a step-sibling relocate to the United Kingdom.
“He was only starting to enjoy the fruits of his labour before death snatched him away.”
The family has barred journalists and other visitors from taking photographs or recording video within its compound. A notice on the gate at the family residence in Oluwakeeyin Community, Egbeda Local Government Area, read:
“No photo, no video; media are not allowed in this compound. If you are caught, you will face the consequences.”
Family members, colleagues and friends gathered outside the compound. A female resident who declined to be named urged a reporter to leave.
“My dear brother, have you not gone there? Don’t you see what the family pasted at the gate? You better take your leave. If they catch you, hmmm.”
Another resident described him as gentle and easy-going.
“It is painful. A young man, an easy-going person who could not hurt a fly, would just die like that. I cannot say anything or give you my personal details because the family has warned everybody. So, for this reason, I cannot say more than this. May God repose his soul and be with the family he left behind.”
The comedian and content creator Ayo Ajewole, known as Woli Agba, described him as a musician with a “very unique voice” whose songs brought joy, touched lives and created beautiful memories, and said the singer had repeatedly spoken about his fear of the health system.
“What he feared most and talked about repeatedly was what eventually affected him. He said many times, if not for anything, he would consider going abroad just because of Nigeria’s unreliable healthcare system.”
The gospel singer Esther Igbekele said she was devastated, recalling their last conversation at her mother’s funeral, which he could not attend but towards which he sent money.
“He was humility and respect personified.”
The comedian Akewusola Oladipupo, known as MC Always, accused the government of neglecting the health sector and urged Nigerians to hold political leaders accountable, saying timely access to appropriate care saves lives in emergencies. Citing consultations with doctors, he named severe heart attack, pulmonary embolism and severe stroke as possible causes of the collapse. None of those has been medically established.
“Many of you living in Ibadan do not even know that doctors at the UCH have been on a three-day warning strike since Monday. This is not an act of God. The government should be held accountable for the state of the country’s health system and the consequences for patients.”
He also raised the availability of catheterisation laboratories, used to diagnose and treat certain heart conditions.
The social media commentator Martins Vincent Otse, known as VeryDarkMan, blamed the death on neglect of the health sector.
“If the hospitals were not on strike, Toluwanisings would be alive.”
Others wrote on X. @festbrzy: “When I lost my mum in 2020, I understood that any healthy person can die in Nigeria in a split second just because of one medical emergency or the other. We have no value for lives in Nigeria; healthcare is no priority.” Popoola Gboyega (@poga11) questioned the state of public hospitals in Ibadan and called for an investigation into the allegations. @alabi_fayzh said a relative had died after medical personnel failed to respond adequately to worsening complaints.
Adesanya Adebayo named what he said was missing.
“No 911 that shows up, stabilises you, and gets you to the hospital. When time is life, we are still depending on private cars and ‘hope a hospital accepts him.'”
On Facebook, Oduntan Rebecca urged Nigerians to invest in hospitals rather than depend solely on government, and questioned how hospitals could operate without essential emergency equipment.
The Nigerian Medical Association called for improved emergency medical services and an effective referral system, identifying inadequate primary healthcare facilities, poor coordination among hospitals and the absence of an organised paramedical emergency response system as the major problems.
Its National Secretary, Dr. Desmond Tamunokuro, said emergency care is a critical measure of the quality of a country’s health system and called for greater investment.
“If the hospital’s available manpower and equipment cannot take care of the patient’s immediate health concern, the right thing for the hospital to do is to refer, not reject, the patient.”
“But a referral at that stage may appear to the patient as a rejection. The hospital has clearly said by that action that the available manpower and equipment are not enough to provide immediate care for that patient.”
“In saner climes, these things are done by paramedics who pick up patients that have emergencies and already know which facilities to take them to. So, it takes away this issue of going to several facilities before proper care can actually be achieved.”
The Association’s National Publicity Secretary, Professor Olayinka Atilola, said patients and relatives often mistake a referral, or a hospital’s inability to manage a condition, for rejection.
“Sometimes what we call rejection is an admission of the fact that I am not trained or equipped to handle this case. It takes a lot of humility to say that you don’t have the knowledge, the skill, the experience or the equipment to handle a case.”
“When they bring a case of a severe head injury or something very complicated that you know you cannot handle, you tell them not to let you keep them there, wasting time. You need to proceed to where they can help you.”
“But people will say the patient was rejected. If I say I don’t know what to do because I am not trained to do so, that is pure honesty.”
[A MUST HAVE] Evidence Act Demystified With Recent And Contemporary Cases And Materials
Available now for NGN 40,000 at ASC Publications, 10, Boyle Street, Onikan, Lagos. Beside High Court, TBS. Email publications@ayindesanni.com or WhatsApp +2347056667384. Purchase Link: https://paystack.com/buy/evidence-act-complete-annotation
______________________________________________________________________ “Enhance Legal Practice With Authoritative Reports” — Alexander Payne Offers Comprehensive Law Reports, Spanning Over A Century Of Nigerian Jurisprudence
Interested buyers are encouraged to place their orders and enquiries via:
0704 444 4777, 0704 444 4999, 0818 199 9888
Website: www.alexandernigeria.com
