Elder Olugbenga Abefe Otemuyiwa, an accomplished mental health nurse and nursing leader who worked on “making the service better,” passed on to glory on Saturday, 24 May 2025, after a brief illness. Elder Otemuyiwa, a dedicated psychiatric nurse, emphasised his unique blend of clinical expertise and compassionate care, recognising his profound impact on the lives of those he served. Elder Otemuyiwa, throughout his 35 years of service, upheld the values of safe, competent, and ethical practice to ensure the protection of the public; Respect for the inherent worth, right of choice, and dignity of persons; Health, mental health, and well-being; and quality practice. Elder Otemiyiwa’s professional principle focused on ‘accepting patients as they are without judgment, showing interest in them as individuals, listening to understand their feelings, maintaining consistency in care, avoiding unnecessary increases in patient anxiety, and explaining procedures at the patient’s level of understanding.’

Born in 1955 to Prophet Moses Ige Otemuyiwa of the Otemuyiwa/Adenipekun dynasty of the Arapate Chieftaincy House of Ikobi Quarters, Osu in the present day Atakunmosa West Local Government of Osun State and Madam Esther Olayinka Ashabi Otemuyiwa (Nee Borisade) of the Jegede Borisade dynasty of the Agbayewa Chieftaincy house of Odo-Ereja Quarters, Ilesa in the present day Ilesa West Local Government of Osun State, both of blessed memory.

He started his education at Ife-Oluwa C&S Primary School, Osu. Thereafter, he proceeded to Ife Oluwa Modern School, Ilesa, for one year, before he was transferred to Atakunmosa High School, Osu. He graduated from Atakunmosa High School in 1971. In 1972, he applied to become a pupil teacher in the service of the Old Western Region, and he was posted to a primary school in Orile-Owu, in the present-day Ayedaade Local Government of Osun State. However, in 1973, he got admission to study Psychiatric Nursing at the School of Psychiatric Nursing, Aro–Abeokuta.

He earned his Registered Psychiatric Nursing Certificate in 1977. His status then became a Psychiatric Staff Nurse, working in the Neuropsychiatric Hospital Aro Abeokuta, from July 1977 to June 1979. During this period, he also ventured into General Nursing education, which brought him to Wesley Guild Hospital School of Nursing, Ilesa, from 1977 to 1979. He obtained his Registered Nursing Certificate in 1979. He started work as a Staff Nurse in Ilesa General Hospital from July 1979 to June 1980. In July 1980, he joined the services of the then Ife University Teaching Hospital Complex (now Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex). He was posted to work in the Ilesa Hospital Unit. His working career from that point was with the Teaching Hospital until he retired in 2008.

In his mental nursing career, Elder Otemuyiwa continued to make progress. In 2000, he took a one-year study leave to study at the University of Benin, Benin City. He obtained a Diploma in Nursing Administration and Management (DNAM), which was the elite course for Nurse Administrators and Managers at the time. Consequently, he was deployed into Nursing Administration and Management for about the last five years before his retirement in 2008. During his Nursing career, he was an active member of the trade Unions – National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) and Senior Staff Association of Universities, Teaching Hospitals and Research Institute and Associated Institutions (SSAUTHRIAI).

In 1976, he met Miss Cecilia Modupeola Awodiran, a nurse who came for Psychiatric Nursing experience in Aro Neuropsychiatric Hospital. They started a relationship and got married in July 1981, and the marriage is blessed with Children and grandchildren.

The proximity of Elder Otemuyiwa’s workplace in Ilesa to Osu enabled him to support his father, Baba Moses Ige Otemuyiwa, in the church Ministry. Elder Otemuyiwa was a driver, personal assistant, project manager, confidential secretary, and many more to his father till Baba’s transition in 2006. Elder Otemuyiwa kept the Church’s financial records for several years, presenting annual statements of accounts to the C and S, Oke Ayo, Osu, Church-in-Council since the 80s, when it was not a popular thing to do among indigenous Churches at the time. Elder Otemuyiwa was one of the pioneer Advisers, The Great Reformers Club, Osu.

Elder Otemuyiwa, Osu Community Health Ambassador, would remain a reference point for his sacrificial care towards any Osu indigene admitted into Wesley Guild Hospital, Ilesa. He was always the first point of call for assistance and guidance. He was a mentor to me, especially for the revival of youth in the Osu Community.

In September 1987, the Ilesa chapter of Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship International (FGBMFI) – a non-denominational international group of Christian professionals and businessmen was launched. He was invited and joined FGBMFI. He rededicated his life to Christ there, became a member of the Fellowship, and later became a Life Member. He served in the Fellowship in various capacities for the last 38 years. He became the Vice President of the Ilesa Main Chapter in 1997, and in 1999, he became the President of the Ilesa Main Chapter. He served as the President till 2003. Thereafter, he was appointed as a Field Representative with oversight of a group of Chapters in the Ilesa Zone. He deployed his commitment, energy, resources, and me to the work of the gospel through the FGBMFI, especially as it afforded him a non-denominational platform to serve. I remember when he led the FGBMFI delegates to their conference in Lagos in the late 90s, and I hosted him and all the delegates at Methodist Boys’ High School, Broad Street, Lagos.

Elder Otemiyiwa’s death reminds us that ‘when a nurse dies, the halls remember, not in echoes, but in the hush that settles over a place once warmed by his presence. When a nurse dies, the beds whisper stories of hands that held, of words that healed, of moments he carried alone, so others did not have to. He did not wear armour, but he went to war against time, pain, fear, and death and many times, he won. However, now he lies still, and for once, it is we who stand by his bedside.’ We who whisper, “thank you.” We who weep in the silence, Elder Otemuyiwa once filled with strength. He did not leave the world quietly. He left with the honour of the unseen, the dignity of the overworked, the grace of the forgotten heroine.

Elder Otemuyiwa’s death tells us that, ‘when a nurse dies, it is not the end of his shift. It is the rise of his legacy. In every pulse he steadied, in every tear he caught, in every “you are not alone” he offered, his spirit lives on. So let us not mourn Elder Otemiyiwa in sorrow, but in sacred awe. Let us tell the world.

Indeed, a light has gone out, but its warmth remains. In every nurse who stays late, who holds hope like a fragile flame, who walks in her footsteps with trembling hands and open heart, He lives again. He is not gone. He is just on the other side of healing. A place where alarms do not beep, and hearts never break.

So, rest now, Elder Otemuyiwa, Osu Community Health Ambassador, brave soul. Your hands have done enough. Your shift is complete. And oh, what a shift it was till we met at the feet of Jesus on the resurrection morning. Please, remember his wife, children, grandchildren and the entire family in prayer.

Please, join me to sing:

1 Sleep on, beloved, sleep, and take thy rest;
Lay down thy head upon thy Saviour’s breast;
We love thee well, but Jesus loves thee best–
Good-night! Good-night! Good-night!

2 Calm is thy slumber as an infant’s sleep;
But thou shalt wake no more to toil and weep:
Thine is a perfect rest, secure and deep–
Good-night! Good-night! Good-night!

3 Until the shadows from this earth are cast,
Until He gathers in His sheaves at last,
Until the twilight gloom be over past–
Good-night! Good-night! Good-night!

4 Until the Easter glory lights the skies,
Until the dead in Jesus shall arise,
And He shall come, but not in lowly guise–
Good-night! Good-night! Good-night!