When the final tributes echoed through This Present House in Lekki, Lagos, on 2 October 2026, they were less about individual film roles and more about a deeper imprint left on Nigerian performance.
Actors, producers, political figures and industry veterans gathered not merely to mourn Oludotun Baiyewu Jacobs—who died on 16 September 2026 at the age of 84—but to reckon with the standards he enforced, the young careers he shaped, and the deliberate choice he made decades earlier to bring classical training home rather than remain in British theatre and television.
The funeral service, preceded two days earlier by a Night of Tributes and Service of Songs at the historic Glover Memorial Hall on Lagos Island, brought together a cross-section of Nollywood’s past and present. Lagos State Deputy Governor Dr Obafemi Hamzat, First Lady Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, former Ogun State Governor Senator Ibikunle Amosun, and other dignitaries joined Joke Silva, Jacobs’ widow and fellow veteran actress, and their sons Olusoji and Olugbenga. Entertainers including Richard Mofe-Damijo (RMD), Segun Arinze, Patrick Doyle, Kate Henshaw, Sola Sobowale, Funke Akindele, Hilda Dokubo, Keppy Ekpenyong, Norbert Young and many others filled the space. Singer and entrepreneur Darey Art Alade performed his 2015 hit “Pray for Me,” the music video for which featured Jacobs and Silva as a couple—an emotional reminder of a partnership that spanned stage, screen and institution-building.
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From Kano school stages to RADA and back
Jacobs’ path was never the most obvious one for a Nigerian of his generation. Born on 11 July 1942 to parents of Egba Alake origin from Abeokuta, he spent his early years in Kano, attending Holy Trinity School. There, debating and drama societies first stirred his interest. A formative encounter with Hubert Ogunde’s concert party performance helped crystallise the ambition. Against initial family reservations, he travelled to Britain in the 1960s and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London.
That classical grounding opened doors on British stages and television. He appeared in productions including A Taste of Honey at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield and series such as The Professionals, The Bill, Dempsey and Makepeace and others.
International film work followed. Yet in the late 1980s and into the 1990s he returned permanently to Nigeria. Colleagues repeatedly identified that decision as one of his greatest contributions. At a time when the Nigerian video-film industry was still finding its footing—what would later be called Nollywood—Jacobs brought not only technical skill but an insistence on discipline, preparation and respect for every line and every role.
Patrick Doyle, a long-time collaborator, captured the duality many remembered: “He was a very pleasant person to work with, and at the same time, a very strict person. He has very high standards and doesn’t lower them.” Doyle called him “a standard bearer for the movie industry in Nigeria,” noting the sacrifice inherent in leaving behind opportunities abroad to commit fully to building local capacity and credibility.
Mentor, teacher, father figure
That standard-bearing role became the dominant theme of the tributes. Richard Mofe-Damijo, one of Nollywood’s most recognisable faces, described Jacobs in layered terms: “mentor, a friend, a father, a teacher and a colleague all rolled into one. It was on his back that I stood to develop my creative talent.” RMD has repeatedly credited Jacobs with encouraging him and making the path clearer for actors who followed. In earlier statements after the death announcement he noted that had Jacobs not returned home, many careers—including his own—might have taken different shapes. At the Night of Tributes he recalled a specific lesson: there are no small actors and no small lines; neglecting the small lines risks becoming a small actor.
Segun Arinze spoke of a father figure whose influence extended beyond shared stage and screen work: “He was a great teacher, father, mentor and I am privileged to work with him.” Similar recollections came from Sola Sobowale, who remembered Jacobs publicly affirming her talent early in her career, and from others who spoke of his generosity, his refusal to dilute craft for convenience, and the quiet way he modelled professionalism in an industry often defined by speed and volume.
Norbert Young and Keppy Ekpenyong, among others, recalled a colleague whose presence shaped both professional practice and personal outlook. The consistent thread was not star power alone but the transmission of expectations: preparation, integrity, and the belief that Nigerian stories and Nigerian performers could meet exacting standards.
Building institutions: Lufodo and the long view
Jacobs’ contribution took institutional form through the Lufodo Group and the Lufodo Academy of Performing Arts, co-founded with Joke Silva. The couple, who met in the early 1980s during theatre work (including Wole Soyinka productions) and married in 1989, created platforms for training, production and distribution. The academy offered structured professional development in acting and related crafts at a time when formal pathways remained limited. The nickname “The Lion of Lufodo,” used by the family in the death announcement and earlier by Silva, captured both personal authority and this organisational legacy.
In an industry that grew rapidly through informal networks and entrepreneurial energy, Jacobs and Silva’s insistence on training and standards represented a parallel track—one that sought to professionalise the next generation rather than simply occupy the spotlight. Their partnership itself became a reference point: two accomplished performers who maintained distinct professional identities while building shared institutions.
Lagos State Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat, speaking at the funeral, described Jacobs as a man who believed in Nigeria’s potential despite the country’s challenges. That belief underpinned the decision to invest talent and energy at home rather than remain in more established overseas markets.
A career across eras
Jacobs’ screen and stage work spanned theatre, television and more than a hundred (by many counts, several hundred) film appearances. He became closely associated with authoritative roles—kings, chiefs, fathers, political figures—yet colleagues emphasised range and command of craft over typecasting. Honours accumulated over the years: Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) in 2011, Africa Movie Academy Award recognition, industry merit and lifetime achievement awards, including at AFRIFF. In his later years, reports of Lewy body dementia emerged after earlier false death rumours; the family had repeatedly had to push back against online speculation.
The tributes surrounding his death and burial, however, consistently shifted focus from individual performances to the culture he helped foster. In the formative years of Nollywood, when production values, rehearsal practices and professional norms varied widely, figures who modelled higher expectations played an outsized role in legitimising the industry both internally and externally.
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Enduring standard
Darey Art Alade’s performance of “Pray for Me” at the funeral service offered a moment of collective emotion, linking the personal partnership of Jacobs and Silva to a wider artistic community. Yet the more lasting notes were those struck by the actors who followed him. For RMD, Doyle, Arinze and many others, Jacobs’ greatest contribution was not the memorable characters he embodied but the uncompromising professional ethos he demanded and the doors his presence and example helped open.
In choosing to return and to build—through performance, mentorship and institutions—Olu Jacobs helped create conditions in which Nigerian actors could claim space with greater confidence. The characters he played will continue to appear in retrospectives and streaming catalogues. The standard he set, and the generation he encouraged to meet it, form a quieter but more consequential legacy. The Lion of Lufodo has taken his final bow; the expectations he left behind remain.
Chioma Adeyemi is an entertainment and music writer at Naijapiz. She covers Entertainment, Music, Videos.
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