Sabitiyu Olayemi, grandmother of the late gospel singer Olayemi Bayonile Bolaji, widely known as Toluwanisings, has claimed that he ignored her for years before his death, saying he stopped sending her money after occasionally providing her with financial help.
Speaking in an interview with journalist Dunmininu in Osun, posted on social media on Monday, the grandmother said she had helped raise the singer and his mother before he relocated to Lagos but that she had not seen him in over five years.
“We have been taking care of Sodiq (Toluwanisings) and his mother even before he went to Lagos. He attended Arabic schools. When he was in grammar school, I would visit him,” she said.
She stated that she knew her grandson was a musician but was unaware that he had built a house or held a housewarming ceremony.
“I just knew he was a musician. I am not aware he built a house; I was not aware of a housewarming. Even if I want to call him, they will say I shouldn’t. It has been over five years I set my eyes on him,” she said.
The grandmother remembered that the singer had once come to see her with his wife and their first child, but she claimed that he seldom gave her financial support after that.
She mentioned that she had once requested someone in the village to help her get through to him, since she wished to talk with him.
“So I called and told him it was me. He responded, ‘Ahh, Mummy.’ I told him that you cannot even check up on me. He said it is work that has been a hindrance,” she recounted.
She claims that the singer sent her ₦10,000 on roughly three occasions following the conversation but stopped sending her money after that.
She further alleged that after her mobile phone got damaged, she asked the singer’s elder sibling to help her reach him for a replacement, but the sibling advised her not to call him.
When asked if the singer had sent her medication or money to cover medical expenses given her age, she answered, “There is nothing Sodiq (Toluwanisings) sends to me.”
Despite the claim of neglect, the grandmother said she was deeply affected by his death.
“When I heard he is dead, I felt so bad; even though I did not benefit, he is still my child. I know he is still an achievement. I cannot see Sodiq. I have accepted my fate. I wish God had taken me, so I won’t see this evil,” she said.
She also rejected the burying of the singer in a cemetery, insisting that he should be buried at his house.
“I do not agree that Toluwanisings should be buried in a cemetery. It is at his house that they should bury him.
They should not come and bury him close to his mother,” she said.
She maintained that his remains ought to be buried at the house, adding, “It is not possible; they have to bury him there.”
Toluwanisings’ death has given rise to disagreement among family members regarding his burial arrangements.
His father, Muniru Adekunle Olayemi, had stated that he wanted his son buried in the house he built or next to his late mother in Osun State.
The father also challenged reports claiming the singer was 44 when he died, insisting that he was 34. In the meantime, a man who identified himself as the singer’s uncle, Lawal Ademola, has urged an impartial investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.
