Nigeria film board pays tribute to Nollywood patriarch Olu Jacobs

RIDWAN ADELAJA

Nigeria’s film censorship board has led tributes to Olu Jacobs, the classically trained stage actor who became one of the most revered figures in Nollywood, following his death at the age of 84.

The National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) said the veteran, widely known as Uncle Olu, was a “titan of Nigerian and African cinema” who set the gold standard for acting on the continent.

His family announced he died on Tuesday, 16 September, after a long illness. He had lived with dementia in recent years.

In a statement on Wednesday, the NFVCB said Jacobs had not merely acted but “commanded the stage and screen” with his rich, booming voice and impeccable diction.

“Although the Lion of Lufodo has completed his final act, his footprints are permanently etched into the history of global cinema and theatre,” the board said.

The international community has described Jacobs was Nollywood’s bridge.

At a time when Nollywood was becoming known for its rapid-fire home videos in the 1990s, Jacobs brought something entirely different: classical Shakespearean training. He was one of the first Nigerians to train at London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in the 1960s, and spent two decades working in British television – appearing in series like The Professionals and Angels – before returning home.

That pedigree shaped his signature roles. While younger stars chased action, Jacobs became the definitive on-screen king, chief and patriarch, playing royalty with a quiet dignity that became the template for an entire generation of Nigerian actors.

Together with his wife, actress Joke Silva, he founded Lufodo Productions – hence the nickname “Lion of Lufodo” – and the Lufodo Academy of Performing Arts, which has trained hundreds of Nigerian performers.

Tributes have poured in from across the industry, including from President Bola Tinubu, who described him as a “true icon of African storytelling.”

Jacobs was made a Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) in 2007 and received a lifetime achievement award at the inaugural Africa Movie Academy Awards.

He is survived by his wife and children.