Obafemi Ayantuga

Dr Obafemi Ayantuga, B.Sc.; D. Phil.; MBBChir.; SFHM; FACP; MPH

Obafemi Ayantuga, Femi in Nigeria and London, Obi in America, was born to Dr. Obafemi Ayantuga and Ajoke Ayantuga, the third of four children and the only boy. His late father was a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and his late mother was an accountant who kept the home. His grandmother was an Ijebu Princess and his grandfather was from the royal family of Naforija, Epe in Nigeria.

Femi excelled from the start, perpetually at the top of his class. He attended elementary school in Lagos and began secondary school there at the prestigious King’s College. Femi completed his secondary education at Strathallan boarding school in Scotland, got a bachelor of science from London University in 1986, and a PhD in organic chemistry from Oxford University before he turned 23, top of the class, earning the coveted Bishop Frazer prize for excellence in research.

In 1994, he received his medical degree from Cambridge University, earning the John and Margaret Henderson memorial prize in Medicine. He worked as a house officer in UK hospitals before moving to the United States to do his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Minnesota.

Obi served as the medical director at the Kanabec Hospital in Mora, Minnesota, then joined the staff of Fairview Southdale Hospital in 2004, and became a US citizen in time to meet and vote for President Barack Obama in 2008.

In 2010, Obi was named to lead Fairview’s group of thirty hospitalists and later the system-wide group of eighty hospitalists. He served on the hospital’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee and last year was named Fairview Southdale Hospital Physician of the Year.

Obi led by example. He held everyone, especially himself, to high standards of integrity and excellence and was a fierce advocate for his colleagues and of giving people second chances.

“His great talent and potential inspired people and institutions to change for the better,” said a colleague.

On his office wall hung a large framed photograph of engraved river stones, the largest of which reads, Our Dr. Ayantuga Rocks! The other stones are engraved with words reflecting what his colleagues saw in him: integrity, wisdom, quality, service, leadership, teamwork, ambition, guidance, commitment, dignity, compassion and strength.

Obi spoke with a mellifluous British accent, dressed impeccably and was a man of dignity, wry humor and routine, getting his hair cut at H.White Men’s Room, his favorite barber shop, every Saturday.

Obafemi Ayantuga was indefatigable. He worked day and night, rarely sleeping, often dispatching email and texts to family, friends and colleagues the night through. It was this chronic lack of sleep that led to his tragic accident. Ironically, just last month, this man of many degrees got his last one – a Masters in Public Health (again top of his class), from the University of Minnesota. It is thus fitting that his last legacy is a fund that will contribute to the public health in the form of promoting research, awareness and prevention of sleep disorders.

He is survived by innumerable family, friends and colleagues who loved and admired him in Nigeria, London, Montreal and Minnesota.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that any memorials be sent to the Obafemi Ayantuga Sleep Disorders Fund established in his memory.  Donations can be made online or sent by mail c/o The Minneapolis Foundation, 800 IDS Center, 80 S Eighth Street, Minneapolis, MN 55402.

A memorial site with tributes can be found at http://www.forevermissed.com/obafemi-ayantuga/#about