The facilities were reportedly affected by a doctors’ strike and a shortage of medical personnel, raising fresh questions about the availability of emergency care for patients in critical condition.
In a statement issued by Comrade Mark Adebayo, Chief Adviser on Media and Communications to the Adebayo-Bugaje Presidential Campaign, the SDP candidate described the singer’s death as avoidable and blamed the country’s leadership for failing to provide an effective public healthcare system.
“I am very sad about this tragic but avoidable tragedy. Nigeria continues to lose its citizens simply because of a broken healthcare system or even an outright absence of one, especially emergency medical response. It is zero!” he said.
Toluwanisings, whose real name was Olayemi Bayonile Bolaji, reportedly collapsed on Wednesday, 14 October 2026, less than a day after performing at a monthly worship concert.
Accounts attributed to his personal assistant, alongside media reports, indicated that efforts to obtain medical assistance took him to between seven and eight hospitals in Ibadan. He reportedly died without receiving the emergency treatment he needed.
Reacting to the incident, Adebayo drew comparisons between Nigeria’s healthcare services and those in neighbouring Benin Republic, claiming that Nigerians increasingly travel across the border to seek medical attention.
“You cannot believe that Benin Republic, a country that Nigeria is about 20 times its size and much less resourced than Nigeria, has one of the best medical facilities and personnel in West Africa. Many Nigerians go across the border to the Republic of Benin to receive medical treatment because if they remain in Nigeria they will die avoidable deaths,” he said.
The presidential candidate also accused political office holders of neglecting public hospitals because they could afford to seek treatment overseas, leaving ordinary citizens dependent on inadequately equipped healthcare facilities.
“The people in government don’t care about providing functional healthcare for the people because if they suffer ordinary mosquito bite they’re running abroad for treatment. Meanwhile, Nigerians are dying in their hundreds daily of treatable diseases,” Adebayo added.
The singer’s death has also generated widespread reactions on social media, with activist VeryDarkMan among those criticising the state of Nigeria’s public healthcare system and questioning the effectiveness of emergency medical services.
Returning to the circumstances surrounding the loss, Adebayo expressed regret over the death of the gospel artiste, whom he described as a rising talent with considerable potential.
“Now we have lost a growing young artiste with a more promising future to the cold hands of death due to the country’s leadership carelessness. Nigeria has become a situation of the dead mourning the dead. So pathetic!” he lamented.
He extended his condolences to the deceased’s family, the Church and members of the music industry.
The incident has renewed calls for improvements in emergency medical response, hospital staffing and access to timely treatment, particularly for patients requiring urgent care.
However, the reported circumstances surrounding the singer’s final hours, including the number of hospitals approached and the reasons treatment was allegedly unavailable, require confirmation from the relevant hospitals and health authorities.
