Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
Veteran Nollywood actor and theatre icon Oludotun Baiyewu Jacobs, popularly known as Olu Jacobs, has been laid to rest in Lagos, bringing to a close a week of tributes celebrating a career that spanned theatre, television and film across two continents. Jacobs was buried at a private cemetery in Lagos on Friday, October 2, 2026, following a funeral service held at This Present House Church, Freedom Way, Lekki Phase 1. The 84-year-old actor died on September 16, 2026, after a long battle with Dementia with Lewy Bodies, a condition that had kept him away from the screen in his final years.
The funeral service drew an extraordinary gathering of family, colleagues, dignitaries and admirers. His widow, veteran actress Joke Silva, and their sons, Olusoji and Olugbenga Jacobs, were present, dressed in blue, as Jacobs' casket was placed in front of the church and adorned with flowers. Dignitaries at the service included Lagos State First Lady Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu; Deputy Governor Dr Obafemi Hamzat and his wife, Oluremi Hamzat; former Ogun State Governor Senator Ibikunle Amosun; former Ekiti State First Lady Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi; and the Minister of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa. The Nigerian entertainment industry was represented in force, with Richard Mofe-Damijo, Kate Henshaw, Rita Dominic, Ireti Doyle, Segun Arinze, Shaffy Bello, Hilda Dokubo, Ebele Okaro, Stan Nze, Ruth Kadiri and singer Dare Art Alade among those who came to honour a man many described as a father figure and mentor.
The burial followed a Night of Tributes held on Wednesday, September 30, at Glover Memorial Hall, Marina, Lagos Island, where colleagues shared memories, performed solemn hymns and offered humorous recollections of a man whose career had helped define Nigerian cinema. On Thursday, October 1, a service of songs was held, and the funeral proper on Friday was the culmination of days of mourning that had begun with the announcement of his death by his family. Guests at the funeral were asked to dress in shades of green, a colour chosen by the family for the service, while Wednesday's Night of Tributes had been marked by blue attire. The dress code reflected the family's intention to celebrate a life well lived rather than mourn a loss alone.
Born in 1942 in Kano to parents from Egba Alake, Jacobs spent his early years in the northern city, where he attended Holy Trinity School. His passion for the performing arts was ignited after he watched a Hubert Ogunde concert party performance at the Colonial Hotel in Kano. He subsequently travelled to England, where he trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, one of the world's most prestigious drama schools. His stage career began in the 1970s, and in 1972 he played The Boy in A Taste of Honey at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. He went on to appear in a string of British television productions, including The Goodies, Till Death Us Do Part and Barlow at Large, and in 1978 he portrayed President Mageeba in Michael Codron's presentation of Sir Tom Stoppard's play Night and Day.
Jacobs returned to Nigeria in 1990 and quickly became a defining presence in the country's emerging film industry. He featured in the NTA detective series The Third Eye before going on to act in hundreds of films, portraying kings, fathers, elders and authority figures with a gravitas that made him one of the most recognisable faces in Nigerian cinema. His later credits included Dancing Heart, Dry, Oloibiri and The Royal Hibiscus Hotel. He won the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 2007 and received the national honour of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic in 2011. At the 2023 Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards, he received the Industry Merit Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to acting. He was also honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2021 Africa International Film Festival and an Icon Award from the Audio-Visual Rights Society of Nigeria in 2022.
With his wife, Joke Silva, whom he married in 1989, Jacobs co-founded the Lufodo Group and the Lufodo Academy of Performing Arts, institutions that contributed significantly to professional training within Nigeria's entertainment industry. The academy became a pipeline for young actors seeking to develop their craft, and the couple's partnership on and off screen was widely regarded as one of the most enduring and influential in Nollywood. At the Night of Tributes, actress Sola Sobowale disclosed publicly for the first time that Jacobs had personally trained her, crediting him with shaping the career that made her one of Nigeria's most celebrated performers. Richard Mofe-Damijo recalled a lifelong lesson Jacobs had given him: "There are no small actors, and there are no small lines. But if you are not mindful of the small lines, you will become a small actor."
The funeral brought together a cross-section of Nigerian society, from government officials to cultural figures, reflecting the breadth of Jacobs' influence. The service was followed by a private burial, in accordance with the family's wishes. For Nollywood, the loss of Olu Jacobs represents the passing of a generation of actors who built the industry from its earliest days, combining rigorous training with an unmistakable screen presence. For his family, it is the loss of a husband, father and grandfather. For Nigerians who grew up watching him, it is the departure of a familiar presence whose face and voice became part of the country's cultural fabric. As the casket was lowered and the tributes faded, the industry he helped build was left to carry forward the standards he set and the legacy he leaves behind. He is survived by his wife, Joke Silva, their sons, and a body of work that will continue to define Nigerian cinema for generations to come.
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