Nollywood lost one of its founding fathers on Wednesday. Olu Jacobs, born Oludotun Baiyewu Jacobs, 84 years old, married to the one and only Joke Silva for over three decades is gone.
His son, Olusoji, broke the news on Instagram, and within hours, every corner of the industry was in mourning. “The Lion of Lufodo,” the family called him. Anyone who watched him work knows exactly why.
If you grew up on Nigerian television or film in the last fifty years, you’ve seen Olu Jacobs. You just might not have known his full story.
Before Nollywood was Nollywood, before “the industry” had a name people said with pride, Jacobs was already building a career most actors only dream of training at RADA in London, holding his own on British TV in shows like The Professionals and Till Death Us Do Part, sharing scenes in international films alongside names like Roman Polanski.
He came home and became something bigger than any single role, with his Commanding, controlled, unmistakable voice that could carry a scene.
His final years weren’t easy, and Nigerians knew it. His diagnosis with dementia with Lewy bodies was never a secret, Joke Silva spoke about it publicly, with a grace that made the rest of us love her even more.
Eighty-four years, over five decades in the craft, more than a hundred films. A wife, children, grandchildren, and an entire industry that owes him something.
Rest well, Olu Jacobs.
You earned it.
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