We're loading the full news article for you. This includes the article content, images, author information, and related articles.
The Institute of African Studies mourns the death of Professor Biodun Jeyifo, the pioneer ASUU president and world-renowned Wole Soyinka scholar, who has died at 80.

The African intellectual firmament has lost one of its brightest stars. Professor Biodun Jeyifo, the fearless literary critic, Marxist scholar, and pioneer President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has died at the age of 80, leaving behind a legacy of radical thought that reshaped the continent’s academic landscape.
His death is not merely the passing of an octogenarian; it is the silencing of a voice that for five decades spoke truth to power with unrelenting clarity. The Institute of African Studies (IAS) at the University of Ibadan, where Jeyifo once roamed as a colossus of critical theory, has been plunged into mourning. The "scholarly authority" on Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka succumbed to renal failure on Wednesday, just a month after his milestone 80th birthday, marking the end of an era for the Nigerian intelligentsia.
Jeyifo, affectionately known as "BJ" to comrades and students alike, was never one to confine his brilliance to the ivory tower. As the founding President of ASUU, he did not just lead a union; he weaponized the intellect of the Nigerian academic against the encroaching decay of military dictatorships and neoliberal structural adjustment policies. His tenure laid the ideological bedrock for the union's decades-long struggle for university autonomy and the dignity of intellectual labor.
"He was a towering figure in African and global intellectual life," said Sola Olorunyomi, Director of the IAS, in a sombre statement released in Ibadan. "His intellectual clarity and moral courage left an enduring imprint on colleagues and students alike. We have lost a revolutionary twin of the Institute."
The news of his passing has sent shockwaves through the global academic community, from Cornell University to the lecture halls of Obafemi Awolowo University. Tributes are pouring in, painting a portrait of a man who was as gentle in mentorship as he was ferocious in debate. He was a bridge between the post-colonial optimists and the disillusioned realists of the 21st century.
For the current generation of scholars, Jeyifo's life serves as a haunting reminder of a time when the Nigerian university was a crucible of revolutionary thought rather than a factory for certificates. His essays were not just academic exercises; they were calls to arms. As the literary world bids farewell to this titan, the question echoes: who will pick up the gauntlet? In the words of the IAS, his memory must now become "a charge to continue the work" of democratic possibility and intellectual integrity.
Keep the conversation in one place—threads here stay linked to the story and in the forums.
Sign in to start a discussion
Start a conversation about this story and keep it linked here.
Other hot threads
E-sports and Gaming Community in Kenya
Active 9 months ago
The Role of Technology in Modern Agriculture (AgriTech)
Active 9 months ago
Popular Recreational Activities Across Counties
Active 9 months ago
Investing in Youth Sports Development Programs
Active 9 months ago