Tinubu, Atiku, and All of Nollywood Mourn the Death of Olu Jacobs
Olu Jacobs, an actor whose commanding presence and five-decade career helped carry Nigeria’s film industry from its earliest theatrical roots to the global reach of modern Nollywood, died on Wednesday at his home in Lagos. He was 84.
His death was confirmed by his son, Olusoji Jacobs, in a statement posted to Instagram that described his father’s as “a life well lived and fought.” The family referred to Jacobs as “The Lion of Lufodo,” a nod to the production company he built with his wife, and asked that bloggers and social media influencers respect their privacy while they mourn.
Trending Now!!:
Jacobs was born Oludotun Baiyewu Jacobs on July 11, 1942. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, an unusual path for a Nigerian actor of his generation, and it shaped the register and discipline that would define his screen presence for decades.
Through the 1970s, he built a career in British television, appearing in productions including “The Goodies,” “The Professionals” and “The Tomorrow People,” work that gave him an international grounding before Nollywood had fully taken shape.
Jacobs became one of the industry’s foundational figures once he returned home. Over a career spanning more than five decades in theatre, television and film, he came to be regarded as one of Nollywood’s father figures, a performer whose gravitas lent weight to whatever production he joined.
His filmography includes My Kingdom, Covert Operation and One Fine Day, and in 2011 the Nigerian government conferred on him the national honor of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic in recognition of his contribution to the country’s film industry.
His marriage to Joke Silva, herself one of Nollywood’s most respected actresses and filmmakers, became one of the industry’s defining partnerships. Together they founded the Lufodo Group, a media company encompassing film production and distribution, along with the Lufodo Academy of Performing Arts, an institution built to train the next generation of Nigerian performers. Silva announced Jacobs’s death in a statement and asked for privacy for the family.
Jacobs had largely withdrawn from public life in recent years because of ill health. Silva disclosed in 2021 that he had been diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, a progressive neurodegenerative condition, an admission that came after persistent rumors of his death had circulated online for years.
Those rumors resurfaced periodically, most recently in June 2024, when his eldest son, Olusoji, appeared on television to say his father was still alive. Despite his declining health, Jacobs made a public appearance in November 2021 at the Africa International Film Festival, where he was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
News of his death on Wednesday set off an outpouring of grief across Nigeria’s entertainment industry and beyond. President Bola Tinubu, in a tribute, called Jacobs “a giant of the Nigerian creative industry” who played “a big role” in building the country’s cultural identity, adding that his passing was “a great loss to Nigeria, the African film industry and the global community of lovers of the performing arts.”
Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria’s former vice president, wrote on social media that “Nigeria has lost far more than a great actor; we have lost an institution, a cultural icon and one of the finest ambassadors of our creative spirit.”
Tributes from Jacobs’s colleagues in Nollywood arrived throughout the day and into Thursday. Funke Akindele, Ini Edo and Williams Uchemba were among those who reached out directly to Silva, while also posting public messages honoring Jacobs’s legacy.
Kate Henshaw wrote on social media, “Adieu to a great one. You lived and shared your gift with the world.” Richard Mofe Damijo, known widely as RMD, wrote that some losses leave people “searching for words,” adding that Jacobs “may have taken your final bow, but the curtain will never truly fall on the legacy you leave behind.”
Muyiwa Ademola described him as “a name that became an institution,” while veteran actor Jide Kosoko offered an extended tribute that fans said summarized Jacobs’s life in a few paragraphs.
The actor Emeka Ike was filmed in visible distress outside a residential gate on the morning the news broke, a moment that circulated widely online and prompted debate about the public sharing of private grief.
Other figures who paid tribute included Mercy Johnson-Okojie, Mo Abudu, Susan Peters, Bolanle Ninalowo, Eniola Ajao, Kehinde Bankole, Ruth Kadiri, Broda Shaggi, Mr Macaroni, and the aviation minister, Festus Keyamo, among many others across generations of the Nigerian entertainment world.
Jacobs is survived by his wife, Joke Silva, and their children, including Olusoji Jacobs, who confirmed his father’s death. Funeral arrangements had not been announced as of Thursday.
