Nigerian writer, playwright and poet Wole Soyinka has sparked conversations on social media after leading members of the Pyrates Confraternity to pay their final respects to renowned literary scholar Biodun Jeyifo.
The Pyrates Confraternity, also known as the National Association of Seadogs (NAS), was founded by Mr Soyinka and six others, popularly referred to as the “Magnificent Seven.”
The organisation, established in 1952 at the University College Ibadan, was registered as a humanitarian body known for charitable work and advocacy for good governance, among other activities.
Mr Jeyifo, the pioneer president of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, died on 11 February at the age of 80.
In a video obtained on Wednesday, the Nobel laureate led members of the confraternity as they paid their last respects to the late scholar, who was laid to rest in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Under Mr Soyinka’s leadership, the group honoured Mr Jeyifo’s lasting contributions to African literature, theatre and intellectual discourse.
The footage showed Mr Soyinka dressed in a white shirt, black trousers and a jacket while leading members wearing the confraternity’s traditional white, red and black colours.
Holding a sword, the 91-year-old guided the procession as members sang solemn tributes. At the graveside, they performed songs celebrating a life devoted to scholarship, activism and the advancement of African thought.
Mr Jeyifo was buried at the St James the Great Cathedral Anglican Cemetery.
His final rites began on Tuesday with an evening of tributes at the International Conference Centre University of Ibadan.
Before the burial, a lying-in-state was held at TOS Funeral Homes, followed by another at the deceased’s residence on Jeyifous Street in Oke-Bola, Ibadan.
Colleagues and students fondly called Mr Jeyifo “Professor BJ”, reflecting the deep respect he commanded in academic circles.
He began his academic career at the University of Ife, where he gained recognition as a formidable scholar, before holding joint teaching appointments at Cornell University and Harvard University.
In January, scholars, writers and cultural figures gathered at the MUSON Centre for an international colloquium to celebrate his 80th birthday and honour his lifelong contributions to literary scholarship and intellectual engagement.
Mr Jeyifo earned widespread recognition as a leading authority on the life and works of Mr Soyinka.
His influential book, “Wole Soyinka: Politics, Poetics and Postcolonialism”, published by Cambridge University Press in 2004, received global acclaim and several awards. Many scholars regard it as one of the most comprehensive single-author studies in African postcolonial literary criticism.
Born on 5 January 1946, Mr Jeyifo was a Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Letters and a respected public intellectual whose decades-long career spanned teaching, research and mentorship in both Nigeria and the United States.