By Damilola Adeyera
Oludotun Baiyewu Jacobs, MFR, the towering Nollywood icon known simply as Olu Jacobs, passed away on September 16, 2026, at the age of 84. His family announced the news with quiet dignity, calling him “The Lion of Lufodo” and expressing gratitude for “a life well lived and fought.”
Born on July 11, 1942, in Abeokuta, Ogun State, to parents of Egba Alake origin, Jacobs spent part of his childhood in Kano. There, the seeds of a lifelong passion for performance were planted. He later travelled to England and trained at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, laying the foundation for a career that would bridge continents and generations.
In the 1970s, Jacobs built a solid reputation on British stages and television screens. He appeared in series such as The Goodies, Till Death Us Do Part, Barlow at Large, The Venturers, Angels, The Tomorrow People, and The Professionals. He also featured in international films, bringing African presence and authority to roles that few others could command with equal gravitas.
When he returned to Nigeria, Jacobs became one of the foundational pillars of what would grow into Nollywood. With his deep, resonant voice, regal bearing, and commanding screen presence, he specialised in roles of kings, chiefs, senior advocates, military officers, and patriarchs. Across more than a hundred films, he elevated every production he touched, setting a standard of professionalism and craft that younger actors still measure themselves against.
Beyond acting, Jacobs was a builder of institutions. In 1989 he married fellow thespian Joke Silva. Together they founded the Lufodo Group, encompassing film production, distribution, and the Lufodo Academy of Performing Arts. Through the academy, the couple mentored and trained countless young talents, ensuring that the craft they loved would outlive them. Their partnership, both personal and professional, stood as one of the industry’s most enduring and respected unions.
Recognition followed the excellence. In 2007, Jacobs won the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. In 2011, then-President Goodluck Jonathan conferred on him the national honour of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR). In 2013 he received the Industry Merit Award at the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards. Lifetime achievement honours continued to arrive in subsequent years, acknowledging a career that spanned more than five decades.
In his later years, Jacobs lived with Lewy body dementia. The condition gradually withdrew him from the public eye and from the set. False reports of his death circulated more than once in the years that followed; each time his family firmly corrected the record. This time the announcement was final.
Olu Jacobs leaves behind his wife, Joke Silva; their children, including sons Olusoji and Olugbenga; grandchildren; and an extended family of colleagues and admirers across the entertainment world. He also leaves a body of work that continues to speak for him.
The Lion of Lufodo has taken his final bow. The stage he helped build remains brighter because he once stood upon it.