Philanthropist offers Toluwanisings' father housing and school fees for singer's two daughters
- An Osun philanthropist and APM senatorial candidate has offered the late singer's father a place to live in Ikirun for at least two years.
- He also pledged to pay the school fees of Toluwanisings' two daughters up to tertiary level, with the family's consent.
- The offers are pledges only; the family has not moved and the scholarships have not started, and the burial dispute is unresolved.
A philanthropist from Ikirun in Osun State has offered to house the father of late gospel singer Olayemi Bayonile Bolaji, known as Toluwanisings, and to pay the school fees of the singer's two daughters.
The man, Ibraheem Luqman, is the All Peoples Movement (APM) candidate for Osun Central in the Senate. His campaign organisation announced the offer in a statement on Wednesday.
The move came after photos and videos of the singer's father, Muniru Adekunle Olayemi, and the state of his home drew attention on social media.
According to the statement, Luqman sent a team to Ikirun to meet the elderly man and tell him what he wanted to do for the family.
A member of that team, speaking in a video shared online, said the candidate wanted Olayemi moved to a comfortable place in Ikirun for at least two years. He also said Luqman wants to fund the education of the singer's daughters up to higher institution level, and asked for the family's permission.
The delegate described the singer's death as painful, saying Ikirun had lost one of its stars.
What the family is facing
Toluwanisings died in the early hours of October 14, 2026, in Ibadan, Oyo State, after reportedly slumping. The exact cause of death has not been made public.
His personal assistant, Babadunni Gbolabo, has alleged that they went to several hospitals looking for treatment before the singer died. The University College Hospital, Ibadan, said it has no record of the singer being brought there.
There is also a disagreement in the family over where he should be buried, which has delayed the burial plans.
The singer's father wants him buried in the house he built in Ibadan, or beside his late mother in Ikirun. The widow, Akanbi Elizabeth, was reported to prefer a cemetery or church ground, saying she would not be comfortable living in a house where her husband is buried, with their children.
The singer's uncle, Lawal Ademola, backed a home burial, or Ikirun if that was not possible. The grandmother, Sabitiyu Olayemi, insisted on the house in Ibadan and rejected the idea of burying him beside his mother.
At a night of tributes in Ibadan on October 27, the widow wept and asked people not to forget her and the children.
What happens next
Luqman's statement described the housing and the scholarships as offers and pledges. It did not say the family had moved into a new home or that the school fees had started.
It is also not clear whether the family has accepted the offers. The singer's father has yet to speak publicly on them.
The burial dispute is still unresolved, and Ademola has called on the government, community leaders and security agencies to look into the circumstances of the singer's death.
