By Ibrahim Awotunde
A renowned literary scholar and pioneer President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Biodun Jeyifo (BJ), an emeritus professor will be laid to rest in Ibadan on 4 March, his family has announced.
Mr Jeyifo, described as the Olori Ebi (family head) of the Jeyifous family of Oke-Bola, Ibadan, was born on 5 January 1946 and died on 11 February, aged 80. He is survived by his children, Okunola, Lekan and Ayoka.
According to an obituary notice posted by Okunola Jeyifous, a professor, on behalf of the family, funeral rites will begin on Tuesday, 3 March, with an evening of tributes at 4.00 p.m. at Omolayole Hall, International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan.
On Wednesday, 4 March, a lying-in-state will take place first at TOS funeral homes, Ibadan from 9.00-10.00am and later at the deceased’s residence at Oke-Bola, Ibadan, from 11.00 a.m – 12noon. Interment is scheduled to be held the same day at the Anglican cemetery, St. James The Great Cathedral Burial Ground, Ijokodo, Ibadan at 1.00 p.m.
Professor Jeyifo died weeks after celebrating his 80th birthday in January at an international gathering organised by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) and attended by scholars, writers and cultural figures from across the world.
A life of scholarship and activism
Born in Ibadan on 5 January 1946, Mr Jeyifo graduated with a first-class degree in English from the University of Ibadan in 1970. He earned a Master’s degree from the same institution in 1973 and a doctorate from New York University in 1975.
He taught for many years at the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, which later awarded him a Doctor of Letters (honoris causa).
His academic career later took him to the United States, where he held senior appointments at Cornell University and Harvard University. He served as Emeritus Professor of African and African American Studies and of Comparative Literature until his death.
In 1978, he became the first national president of ASUU, playing a pivotal role in transforming the Nigerian Association of University Teachers into a trade union during military rule. He argued at the time that intellectuals should align with the broader struggle for social justice and lend scholarly weight to democratic transformation.
The Institute of African Studies at the University of Ibadan described him as a “towering figure in African and global intellectual life” who stood at the forefront of struggles for academic freedom and the dignity of intellectual labour.
Before his formal academic ascent, Mr Jeyifo and colleagues established the Ogi commune in rural Osun State, an early experiment in radical social organisation. Though short-lived, the experience shaped his later intellectual and political engagements.
Tributes pour in for leading scholar
Mr Jeyifo was widely recognised as a major voice in postcolonial studies. Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, in a condolence message, said he would be “sorely missed” for his contributions to African literature and cultural theory, as well as his leadership within ASUU.
The WSCIJ described him as a “treasured partner in nation building” whose scholarship reshaped how African literature and power are interpreted.
The Publisher of Premium Times, Dapo Olorunyomi, who was at the forefront of organising the 80th birthday celebration, described BJ’s death as “the end of a major chapter of this long narrative of how to reconstruct our literature, culture, not to say the least, the redemption of our society.”
He described his former teacher as the most formidable scholar of literature and literary culture, noting that he laid the theoretical grounds for a lot of what is now understood today as a radical criticism of our literature and culture.
The former Pro-Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Yemi Ogunbiyi, who is regarded as the closest ally of the deceased, said that Mr Jeyifo’s death, simply means “a part of me is gone.”
