Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka led members of the Pyrates Confraternity as they paid their last respects to the late scholar Biodun Jeyifo, an emeritus professor of African literature, who was laid to rest on Wednesday in Ibadan.
In a video shared on X (social media platform) by OyoAffairs, Soyinka was seen alongside other members of the confraternity during the farewell ceremony.
During the gathering, Soyinka reminisced about Jeyifo’s academic brilliance and unique personality during their time at the University of Ibadan.
“At the University of Ibadan, when he was graduating in English Literature, he swept all the minor subjects with clean ‘As’, but in my department, he got a ‘B’. Even with a ‘B’, BJ was obviously a first-class student,” Soyinka recalled.
He described Jeyifo as a scholar whose intellect and character were both remarkable and unpredictable. “BJ did not disappoint in the English Department — lectures, seminars and an ‘A’ mind. He was a bizarre man, and you dared not trust BJ with a letter. He would carry the letter from Lagos to America and then bring it back to Lagos. You would meet him and ask, ‘BJ, what happened to the letter?’ And he would say, ‘I took the letter to America, but I brought it back also.’ That was BJ.”
Soyinka’s eulogy highlighted not only Jeyifo’s academic achievements but also his eccentricity and memorable personality, which endeared him to colleagues and students alike.
Professor Jeyifo’s funeral brought together academics, former students, and members of the Pyrates Confraternity to celebrate his life, scholarly contributions, and enduring influence on African literature and intellectual discourse.
Colleagues remembered him as a brilliant mind whose dedication to literature, teaching, and mentorship left a lasting mark on generations of scholars at the University of Ibadan and beyond.
