Dr Benjamin Oluwatosin Olowojebutu, a Nigerian surgeon and philanthropist, has received two nominations for his contributions to healthcare delivery and humanitarian interventions, recognising his efforts to provide life-changing medical treatment to underserved Nigerians.
Olowojebutu was named among the top 10 nominees for the Exceptional Professionals of the Year in Health and Wellness category at the 2026 TIBA Excellence Awards, while the Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria (PSHAN) shortlisted him among its top three nominees for the Award for Outstanding Philanthropy.
The nominations recognise his work through the Benjamin Olowojebutu Foundation (BOF), which has provided free and subsidised surgeries, medical outreaches and essential healthcare services to vulnerable individuals who struggle to access treatment because of financial constraints.
Through the foundation, Olowojebutu has focused on conditions including fibroids, hernias, lipomas, breast lumps and hydroceles, many of which leave patients suffering for years because they cannot afford surgical interventions.
The foundation also conducts community medical outreaches, offering services such as eye screenings, dental checks, diabetes testing, hypertension screening and health education in underserved communities.
According to the foundation, its interventions are designed to bridge healthcare access gaps by taking medical services closer to people who might otherwise be excluded from conventional healthcare delivery.
Earlier, Olowojebutu said the foundation had performed more than 10,000 free surgeries across 17 states in Nigeria.
He explained that its interventions prioritised people in rural communities who had limited access to healthcare, particularly those requiring surgical procedures they could not afford.
The surgeon said the foundation relied on local contacts to identify and categorise prospective beneficiaries before deploying medical personnel, equipment and medications to communities for the interventions.
He also disclosed that about 80 per cent of the proceeds from his private hospital were channelled into supporting the foundation’s humanitarian activities.
The foundation’s work has included partnerships with public institutions to expand access to surgical care.
In September 2019, the Lagos State Government, through its Ministry of Health, partnered with the foundation on a programme tagged ‘100 in 100’, designed to provide free surgeries for 100 residents with conditions including fibroids, breast lumps, lipomas and hernias.
The intervention also included free medical consultations and dental services, demonstrating how partnerships between healthcare professionals, philanthropic organisations and government institutions can extend treatment to people who cannot afford it.
Beyond surgical interventions, the foundation provides health education and advocates improved access to healthcare, with particular attention to women’s health and conditions that are often neglected because of cost, limited facilities and inadequate awareness.
Its approach reflects a commitment to treating preventable suffering as a healthcare access problem rather than allowing patients’ financial circumstances to determine whether they receive medical attention.
Olowojebutu has previously attributed his commitment to humanitarian healthcare to his personal experience of suffering from inadequate medical attention, which strengthened his resolve to help people in underserved communities access treatment.
The two nominations place his work alongside broader efforts to recognise professionals and organisations contributing to improved healthcare outcomes and social impact in Nigeria.
While the TIBA Excellence Awards recognise professionals making outstanding contributions to their respective fields, PSHAN’s Outstanding Philanthropy category recognises exceptional philanthropic investment in healthcare.
For Olowojebutu, the recognition comes against the background of years of medical interventions aimed at ensuring that poverty does not prevent people from receiving treatment for conditions that are medically manageable.
His work through BOF continues to focus on expanding access to surgical care, strengthening community health interventions and restoring the dignity of people whose medical needs have often been overlooked.
