The death of gospel singer Olayemi Bolaji, popularly known as Toluwanisings, has sparked public outrage following allegations that several hospitals in Ibadan, Oyo State, failed to provide him with emergency treatment after he collapsed.
The singer’s personal assistant, Babadunni Olayemi, alleged that efforts to save him failed after he was taken to several hospitals in Ibadan.
“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,” he said.
Some Nigerians linked the reported difficulties in accessing treatment to a strike by resident doctors at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, while others accused the government of neglecting the health sector.
However, the hospital’s Public Relations Officer, Funmilayo Enitan, said UCH had resumed services following the suspension of the resident doctors’ strike.
“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,” she said.
When contacted on Friday, the Oyo State Commissioner for Health, Dr Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi, said she was unaware of the incident.
“Which gospel artiste? I don’t know the gospel artiste that died recently,” she said.
The state Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade, neither answered calls nor responded to a WhatsApp message from Saturday PUNCH.
From fuji to gospel music
Before gaining recognition for his energetic praise songs and distinctive voice, Toluwanisings spent years pursuing a musical career that began with fuji music.
Born in Ikirun, Osun State, he grew up in a Muslim family and was known as Sodiq before converting to Christianity.
In an interview with actress Biola Adebayo on her Talk to B podcast, he discussed his religious background and early pursuit of fuji music.
His conversion to Christianity marked a turning point in his life and career. He subsequently devoted his talent to gospel music, blending contemporary gospel sounds with Yoruba musical influences.
His distinctive style earned him a growing audience, particularly among lovers of energetic praise songs.
Beyond music, Toluwanisings studied Estate Management and Valuation at Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, graduating in 2017. He continued pursuing music and eventually built the career for which he became widely known.
During his interview with Adebayo, he acknowledged the support his wife gave him as he transitioned to gospel music.
A family source told Saturday PUNCH that the singer had struggled to finance his education. The source said he lost his mother at an early age and that his father later remarried.
The source added that Toluwanisings subsequently helped his step-sibling relocate to the United Kingdom.
“He was only starting to enjoy the fruits of his labour before death snatched him away,” the source said.
Family bars journalists from recording
The singer’s family barred journalists and other visitors from taking photographs or recording videos within its compound, warning that violators would face consequences.
When a correspondent visited his residence in Oluwakeeyin Community, Egbeda Local Government Area of Oyo State, on Friday, the neighbourhood was relatively calm.
Family members, colleagues and friends gathered outside the compound, discussing his death.
A notice pasted on the gate read, “No photo, no video; media are not allowed in this compound. If you are caught, you will face the consequences.”
A female resident, who declined to be named because she was not authorised to speak to journalists, urged the correspondent 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,” she said.
Another resident described the singer 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,” the resident said, adding that the family’s warning prevented them from commenting further.
The resident prayed for the singer’s soul to rest in peace and for God to comfort his family.
Also Read: Toluwanisings’ death leaves gospel music chart in disarray
Tributes fuel concerns over healthcare
Following news of the singer’s death, comedian and content creator Ayo Ajewole, popularly known as Woli Agba, expressed sadness over his passing.
He described Toluwanisings as a musician with a “very unique voice” whose songs brought joy, touched lives and created beautiful memories.
Woli Agba also said the singer had repeatedly expressed concerns about Nigeria’s healthcare 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,” he wrote.
Gospel singer Esther Igbekele also paid tribute to Toluwanisings, describing him as a humble and kind-hearted colleague.
She said she was devastated by his death and recalled their last conversation during her mother’s funeral. Although he could not attend, she said he contributed financially to the programme, describing the gesture as a reflection of his character.
“He was humility and respect personified,” she wrote, adding that he had shown genuine love and left cherished memories.
Comedian and skit maker Akewusola Oladipupo, popularly known as MC Always, accused the government of neglecting the health sector and urged Nigerians to hold political leaders accountable.
In a video addressing the tragedy, he argued that timely access to appropriate medical care could save lives during emergencies.
MC Always cited consultations with doctors while listing severe heart attack, pulmonary embolism and severe stroke as possible causes of the singer’s collapse. However, none of these conditions has been medically established as the cause of death.
“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 said.
He also raised concerns about the availability of specialised medical equipment, particularly catheterisation laboratories, commonly known as cath labs, which are used to diagnose and treat certain heart conditions.
Other Nigerians took to X to express concern about the country’s healthcare system, with some recounting personal experiences of losing loved ones during medical emergencies.
Social media commentator Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, blamed the singer’s death on what he described as neglect of the health sector.
“If the hospitals were not on strike, Toluwanisings would be alive,” he said.
An X user, @festbrzy, recalled losing their mother in 2020 and argued that medical emergencies could quickly become fatal when timely treatment was unavailable.
Similarly, Popoola Gboyega, known as @poga11 on X, questioned the state of public hospitals in Ibadan and called for an investigation into allegations that some facilities refused to admit the singer.
Another user, @alabi_fayzh, claimed that a relative had died after medical personnel failed to respond adequately to worsening complaints during treatment.
Adesanya Adebayo said the circumstances surrounding Toluwanisings’ death highlighted the absence of an effective emergency response system in Nigeria.
“No 911 that shows up, stability you, and gets you to the hospital. When time is life, we are still depending on private cars and ‘hope a hospital accepts him,’” he wrote.
A Facebook user, Oduntan Rebecca, urged Nigerians to consider investing in hospitals rather than relying solely on the government for healthcare services.
She questioned how hospitals could operate without essential emergency equipment and called for improved facilities, qualified doctors and acceptable standards of care.
Previous deaths raise emergency care concerns
Nigeria’s healthcare system has long faced challenges, including inadequate funding, shortages of medical personnel and equipment, and limited access to timely emergency care.
Reports of patients allegedly being turned away during life-threatening emergencies have repeatedly raised concerns about the quality of emergency services and the enforcement of patients’ rights.
In 2020, former Super Eagles player Ajibade Babalade died after suffering cardiac arrest in Ibadan. Reports at the time indicated that a private hospital had denied him treatment before he was referred to UCH.
His former teammate, Ike Shorunmu, disclosed that Babalade was denied treatment at the first hospital to which he was taken.
Similarly, the death of Arise News anchor Somtochukwu Maduagwu in 2025 raised questions about emergency care after she sustained injuries during an armed robbery at her Abuja residence.
Her colleagues, Ojy Okpe and Reuben Abati, alleged that Maitama District General Hospital failed to treat her promptly, reportedly requesting identification documents first.
NMA calls for improved emergency services
The Nigerian Medical Association has called for improved emergency medical services and an effective referral system to reduce treatment delays and improve patients’ chances of survival.
The association identified inadequate primary healthcare facilities, poor coordination among hospitals and the absence of an organised paramedical emergency response system as major challenges undermining emergency care in Nigeria.
Speaking with Saturday PUNCH, the NMA National Secretary, Dr Desmond Tamunokuro, described emergency care as a critical measure of the overall quality of a country’s healthcare system and called for increased government investment in emergency medical services.
He said hospitals that lack the personnel or equipment to manage certain conditions should refer patients to better-equipped facilities rather than turn them away without appropriate guidance.
“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,” he said.
Tamunokuro also lamented the absence of an effective paramedical emergency response system that could assess patients, identify suitable healthcare facilities and transport them without unnecessary delays.
He said such a system would reduce the time patients spend moving between hospitals before receiving appropriate treatment.
“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,” he said.
The NMA National Publicity Secretary, Prof Olayinka Atilola, said patients and their relatives sometimes mistook referrals or a hospital’s inability to manage a condition for rejection.
He explained that referring a patient to a better-equipped facility could be a responsible decision when a doctor lacked the expertise or equipment required to manage the condition.
“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,” he said.
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