By Simpson Global Media News Desk
Nigeria’s film and theatre community gathered in Lagos on Wednesday, September 30, to honour veteran actor Olu Jacobs at a Night of Tributes that brought together several generations of performers, filmmakers, friends and members of his family ahead of his funeral on Friday.
The ceremony at Glover Memorial Hall on Lagos Island marked the first major public farewell for Jacobs since his death on September 16 at the age of 84.
Among those present were his widow, veteran actress Joke Silva, their sons Gbenga and Soji, and prominent figures from Nigeria’s entertainment industry, including Richard Mofe-Damijo, Sola Sobowale, Funke Akindele, Jide Kosoko, Adebayo Salami, Hilda Dokubo, Segun Arinze, Rita Dominic, Emeka Ike, Femi Adebayo and others. The Minister of Arts, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, also attended.
The evening combined formal tributes with personal memories, performances and reflections on Jacobs’ more than five decades in theatre, television and film.
For many of the actors who gathered in Lagos, the event was not simply a farewell to a familiar screen face. It was an opportunity to remember a performer whose career crossed several eras of Nigerian entertainment and connected professional theatre with the development of the country’s modern film industry.
Jacobs’ career began long before the term “Nollywood” became widely associated with Nigerian cinema.
He trained in Britain, worked in British theatre and television, appeared in international film productions, and later returned to Nigeria, where he became one of the established figures of the country’s growing screen industry.
His professional journey therefore extended across different entertainment systems and generations.
The Night of Tributes offered colleagues an opportunity to place those different chapters of his career into personal stories about mentorship, discipline, friendship, professionalism and performance.
A Night Built Around Memories
The gathering at Glover Memorial Hall was structured around remembrance rather than a conventional entertainment programme.
Colleagues took turns recalling experiences from sets, stages and years spent working alongside Jacobs.
Channels Television reported that the evening included hymns, performances, tributes and humorous recollections, with family members and leading figures from Nigerian theatre and film among those in attendance.
One of the recurring themes was Jacobs’ influence on younger and established performers.
Sola Sobowale recalled an encounter in which Jacobs publicly praised her acting ability at a time when that recognition was significant to her.
Richard Mofe-Damijo also recalled a lesson he said Jacobs taught him about the importance of paying attention to every line in a performance.
Such recollections provided a different perspective from a conventional career biography.
Instead of focusing only on awards and film credits, colleagues described the working relationships and experiences that shaped their understanding of Jacobs as a professional.
That aspect of the ceremony was particularly significant because acting careers are built not only through public performances but also through interactions between performers, directors, teachers and colleagues.
For actors who worked with Jacobs, the memories shared in Lagos provided evidence of how his career intersected with the careers of other Nigerian performers.
Joke Silva and the Family Farewell
At the centre of the gathering was Joke Silva, Jacobs’ wife and longtime professional collaborator.
Silva and Jacobs were married in 1989 and later built a shared creative-business platform through the Lufodo Group.
Their relationship therefore extended beyond their private lives into theatre, film production and professional training.
The couple established the Lufodo Academy of Performing Arts, which became part of their wider contribution to training and developing performers in Nigeria. Lufodo describes Jacobs as a co-founder of the group and says his professional career covered stage, film and radio over roughly five decades.
At the Night of Tributes, Silva appeared alongside their sons as colleagues and friends gathered to remember Jacobs.
The public ceremony came after the family had asked for privacy when announcing his death.
When Jacobs died on September 16, his family described him as “The Lion of Lufodo” and appealed to bloggers and social-media influencers to respect the family’s privacy while they mourned.
The subsequent funeral programme provided a structured opportunity for colleagues and members of the public to pay their respects.
The September 30 Night of Tributes was the first major event in that programme.
The final funeral service is scheduled for Friday, October 2, at This Present House on Freedom Way, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos.
A Career That Began Before Nollywood
Jacobs’ career cannot be understood solely through the history of Nollywood.
He was already an established professional actor before Nigeria’s home-video industry developed into the internationally recognised film sector now known as Nollywood.
According to the Lufodo Group, Jacobs trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and worked with institutions and companies including the BBC, National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, Walt Disney, MGM and Universal Pictures.
Premium Times reported that his early interest in acting developed in Kano and that his decision to pursue professional training eventually took him to Britain and RADA.
That training became part of the foundation for a career that moved between stage and screen.
He worked in British television and theatre before returning to Nigeria.
The experience gave him exposure to a professional performance environment that was different from the developing Nigerian film industry he would later join.
When he returned to Nigeria, the country’s entertainment sector was changing.
Television was already an important medium, while Nigerian cinema and home-video production were expanding.
Jacobs became one of the actors whose careers bridged those different stages of development.
From British Screens to Nigerian Television
One of the notable chapters in Jacobs’ Nigerian career was his work in television.
QED reported that he appeared in the Nigerian Television Authority detective series The Third Eye in 1990, a role that formed part of his transition into Nigerian television.
His television work helped establish the screen presence that would later become familiar to audiences across the growing Nigerian film industry.
Jacobs became particularly associated with characters who carried authority.
He played traditional rulers, patriarchs, senior officials and other influential figures, although his career was broader than those roles.
His voice, delivery and stage training contributed to a style that made him recognisable to audiences.
As Nollywood expanded, actors such as Jacobs helped connect the industry’s newer productions with professional traditions that predated the home-video boom.
His presence also demonstrated that Nigerian performers could move between theatre, television and film without being confined to one medium.
The Rise of Nollywood
The development of Nollywood transformed the scale of Nigeria’s screen industry.
From the 1990s onward, Nigerian filmmakers produced large numbers of films for domestic and African audiences.
The industry relied heavily on actors who could work quickly, adapt to different production environments and build recognisable identities with viewers.
Jacobs became one of the established performers in that system.
Lufodo says his body of work included more than 300 Nigerian films, in addition to his international stage, film and television appearances.
The scale of that filmography illustrates how his career intersected with the growth of the Nigerian industry.
But numbers alone do not capture the range of the work.
Jacobs moved between dramatic roles, family stories, historical productions and films built around traditional Nigerian social structures.
He was frequently cast in roles where his character’s authority was important to the story.
For audiences, that created a recognisable screen persona.
For other actors, however, his contribution was also connected to the professional standards associated with his earlier theatre and television work.
Theatre Remained Part of His Foundation
Although Jacobs became widely known through film, theatre remained central to his professional background.
His training at RADA placed him within a formal acting tradition based heavily on stage performance.
His British career included work with the National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company, according to Lufodo.
That background influenced his approach to dialogue, character development and performance.
Theatre also requires performers to sustain characters over extended performances without the ability to rely on editing or repeated takes in the same way a film actor can.
Jacobs’ later screen work therefore reflected a professional foundation built in a different performance environment.
His return to Nigeria also allowed him to bring those experiences into the country's developing entertainment industry.
Mentorship as Part of the Legacy
Several of the tributes at the September 30 ceremony focused on Jacobs’ relationship with other performers.
Sola Sobowale’s recollection of his public encouragement illustrated how an established actor’s recognition could affect the confidence of a younger colleague.
RMD’s story focused on a lesson about the importance of seemingly small lines in a script.
These stories are significant because they shift attention from the finished film to the process of making it.
Film audiences generally see only the final performance.
They do not see the conversations between actors, the advice given between takes, the rehearsals or the professional relationships that develop over years.
The Night of Tributes provided a rare public opportunity to hear some of those behind-the-scenes experiences.
For younger actors attending the event, those recollections also formed part of an informal record of Nigerian acting history.
The history of an industry is not contained only in its films.
It also exists in the memories of the people who made them.
Lufodo and Building an Industry
Jacobs’ contribution to entertainment extended beyond appearing in front of cameras.
Together with Joke Silva, he co-founded the Lufodo Group.
The organisation includes Lufodo Academy of Performing Arts, Lufodo Productions and Lufodo Distribution, among other activities.
The academy is particularly relevant to the question of legacy because professional training can continue beyond the career of a single performer.
An actor may influence an industry through performances, but an institution can potentially influence several generations.
Training gives aspiring performers access to structured instruction and professional standards.
For Nigeria’s creative economy, that type of capacity building has significance beyond any individual production.
The Lufodo model also reflected the professional partnership between Jacobs and Silva.
Both had established careers as performers, but they also became involved in building infrastructure around the performing arts.
Recognition During His Lifetime
Jacobs received major recognition during his career.
The Lufodo Group records an Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role among his honours, while other reports identify the Industry Merit Award at the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards in 2013 and a lifetime achievement recognition in 2016.
In 2011, the Nigerian government conferred on him the national honour of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic, or MFR, in recognition of his contribution to the arts.
Such awards provide one way of documenting a career.
The tributes from colleagues provide another.
The September 30 ceremony demonstrated that Jacobs’ professional legacy was being remembered not only through formal honours but also through the experiences of actors and filmmakers who worked alongside him.
A Link Between Generations
One of the striking features of the Night of Tributes was the range of generations represented.
Veterans such as Jide Kosoko and Adebayo Salami attended alongside younger and contemporary Nollywood figures including Funke Akindele and Femi Adebayo.
RMD, Sola Sobowale, Hilda Dokubo and other performers who have themselves maintained long careers were also present.
That mixture reflected the length of Jacobs’ career.
He entered professional acting at a time when the Nigerian entertainment landscape looked very different from the industry operating today.
By the time of his death, Nigerian films were being distributed across international streaming platforms and watched by audiences around the world.
The people who gathered in Lagos therefore represented several different stages of the country's entertainment history.
The Changing Nigerian Screen Industry
Jacobs’ career also provides a way of tracing the transformation of Nigerian screen entertainment.
The industry has moved from a period dominated by theatre and television to a highly diversified ecosystem involving cinema, streaming platforms, digital creators, television networks, short-form video and international co-productions.
Actors now have access to audiences through platforms that did not exist during Jacobs’ early career.
At the same time, traditional film production remains important.
The rise of streaming has increased international access to Nigerian productions, while Nigerian actors and filmmakers increasingly work across borders.
Jacobs belonged to an earlier generation that helped establish the professional foundation on which later developments were built.
His career was therefore part of a longer transition rather than a separate chapter disconnected from today's industry.
The Importance of Preserving Industry History
As Nollywood grows, preserving its history becomes increasingly important.
Many of the industry's early productions were made under conditions that differed significantly from those of contemporary film production.
Some older films are difficult to access.
Records of television productions can also be fragmented.
The memories of veteran performers therefore have historical value.
Events such as the Night of Tributes can contribute to that oral history by bringing together people who worked with a major figure.
Their recollections can eventually form part of a wider record of how Nigerian entertainment developed.
That record can help future performers and researchers understand the people, institutions and production systems that shaped the industry.
Jacobs’ story is especially useful because it crosses several eras.
He had experience in British theatre and television, Nigerian television, theatre, film and creative-industry institution building.
The “Lion of Lufodo”
The family’s description of Jacobs as the “Lion of Lufodo” was repeated throughout the mourning period.
The phrase connects his public identity with the organisation he built with Silva.
Lufodo itself became part of his professional legacy through production, distribution and training.
The nickname therefore carries a meaning beyond celebrity.
It points towards an actor who was also involved in creating structures around his profession.
That aspect of Jacobs’ career may become increasingly important as the industry reflects on his contribution.
An actor's legacy can be measured by memorable performances.
It can also be measured by institutions created, people trained and professional practices passed on.
A Farewell Before the Funeral
The Night of Tributes was the first major public farewell, but it was not the final funeral ceremony.
The family’s published programme places the main funeral service on Friday, October 2, at This Present House, Freedom Way, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos, beginning at 10 a.m.
Guests have been asked to wear shades of green for the funeral, following the blue dress code announced for the Night of Tributes.
The funeral programme was announced publicly ahead of the September 30 event.
Joke Silva also invited President Bola Tinubu to attend the ceremonies in a letter dated September 23, according to reports on the family’s arrangements.
The invitation was part of the family’s preparations for a farewell that brings together relatives, professional colleagues and people connected to Jacobs’ long career.
A Career Spanning Continents
Jacobs’ professional history crossed national boundaries.
He trained and worked in Britain before returning to Nigeria.
His international credits included appearances connected to major film and television institutions, while his Nigerian career became increasingly associated with the growth of Nollywood.
That international experience was part of what made his career distinctive.
He was not simply an actor who became successful in one national industry.
He moved between professional environments and brought experience from one into another.
The movement also reflected the wider history of Nigerian performers who have trained or worked abroad before returning home.
For Nigeria’s creative sector, such movements can contribute to the exchange of professional practices and international connections.
More Than a Screen Presence
For audiences, Jacobs will remain associated with the characters he played.
For colleagues, however, the September 30 tributes showed that his influence was also personal and professional.
The stories told at Glover Memorial Hall focused on preparation, mentorship, humour, friendship and lessons learned during years of working together.
Those details do not necessarily appear in film credits.
Yet they form an important part of how an industry remembers its veterans.
An actor's influence can continue through the performers who learned from that actor, the institutions that actor helped establish and the professional standards colleagues associate with the person.
The Night of Tributes placed those elements alongside the public achievements for which Jacobs was already known.
Remembering the Man Behind the Roles
The ceremony also allowed colleagues to remember Jacobs outside the roles that audiences saw.
Actors who spend decades playing authoritative or dramatic characters can become closely associated with their screen personas.
Tribute ceremonies create an opportunity to distinguish the performer from the characters.
Personal anecdotes about food on remote film locations, conversations between colleagues and lessons learned on stage offered glimpses into the working relationships that existed beyond the camera.
Channels Television reported one anecdote in which Sola Sobowale remembered Jacobs carrying food and supplies during a difficult location shoot.
Such stories may appear small compared with awards and major productions.
But they are often the details that colleagues remember most clearly.
They show how professional relationships develop through ordinary working experiences.
A Record of Five Decades
The exact number of productions associated with Jacobs varies by source and by how film, television and stage appearances are counted.
Lufodo describes his body of work as spanning about 50 years and including more than 300 Nigerian movies, alongside work in British and international productions.
Premium Times similarly described his career as spanning more than five decades across theatre, television and film.
The length of the career is important because it means Jacobs worked through several major changes in entertainment technology and distribution.
He began when theatre and broadcast television were central platforms.
He later became a major figure during the expansion of Nigerian film.
He lived into an era in which Nigerian films and actors reached global audiences through digital distribution.
Few individual careers can cover such a wide technological and industrial transition.
What His Career Says About Nollywood
Jacobs’ professional story also illustrates how Nollywood developed through a mixture of existing theatre traditions, television experience and new film-production models.
The Nigerian film industry did not emerge from a vacuum.
Performers, directors, writers, producers and technicians brought experience from theatre and television into the expanding film sector.
Jacobs was among those who carried that professional experience into the new industry.
His success also demonstrated the value of experienced performers to an industry seeking to establish its own identity.
He could work within Nigerian stories and production systems while drawing on international professional experience.
That combination became part of the industry's growth.
A Continuing Influence Through Training
The existence of Lufodo Academy of Performing Arts provides one tangible mechanism through which Jacobs and Silva’s work can continue to influence performers.
Training institutions can preserve techniques while adapting them for contemporary audiences.
They can also create spaces where theatre and screen acting are treated as professional disciplines rather than simply as celebrity pursuits.
That distinction matters in an industry that has expanded rapidly.
As more young Nigerians seek careers in acting and entertainment, formal training can provide foundations in performance, discipline, voice, movement and professional conduct.
Jacobs’ career itself demonstrated the value of structured training.
His RADA education preceded decades of professional work across multiple performance environments.
The Final Public Farewell
The Night of Tributes on September 30 was therefore more than a gathering of celebrities.
It was an industry event marking the closing stage of a career that had been woven into Nigerian entertainment for decades.
Actors from different generations came together.
Family members stood at the centre.
Performances provided an artistic farewell.
Colleagues supplied personal memories.
The setting at Glover Memorial Hall also connected the ceremony to Lagos, the city that has played a major role in Nigeria’s theatre, film and entertainment history.
The event gave the industry a public space to acknowledge the end of Jacobs’ career while preparing for the final funeral service.
October 2 and the Final Rites
The next major event will be the funeral service on October 2.
The family’s announced programme places the service at This Present House in Lekki Phase 1.
It follows the Night of Tributes by two days.
The two-stage arrangement separates the broader industry celebration from the main funeral service.
The Night of Tributes gave colleagues and friends an opportunity to speak publicly about Jacobs’ career.
The funeral will provide the family and close associates with the formal final rites.
Together, the events form a farewell programme reflecting both the private and public dimensions of his life.
A Legacy That Extends Beyond Film
Olu Jacobs’ career left several different records.
There is the film record: the many productions in which he appeared.
There is the theatre record: the professional foundation established through British and Nigerian stage work.
There is the television record, including his Nigerian and international appearances.
There is the institutional record through Lufodo and the academy.
And there is the human record preserved in the memories of colleagues.
The Night of Tributes brought those different forms of legacy together.
It also demonstrated that the entertainment industry does not remember its history solely through films.
It remembers through people.
What Remains
The challenge after the funeral will be preserving the professional history of the generation to which Jacobs belonged.
Nigeria’s entertainment industry is continuing to expand, but the older history remains an important part of understanding how it reached its present form.
Archiving films, documenting theatre productions, preserving interviews and recording the experiences of veteran performers can help ensure that future generations have access to that history.
Jacobs’ career provides a particularly extensive case study because it crosses Britain and Nigeria, theatre and film, television and creative-industry entrepreneurship.
The records held by Lufodo, existing films, published interviews and memories from colleagues can all contribute to that history.
A Final Gathering of Generations
The faces at Glover Memorial Hall on September 30 reflected the breadth of Jacobs’ professional relationships.
Veteran actors who worked alongside him for decades stood with performers from newer generations.
Some remembered him as a colleague.
Others knew him as a mentor or industry elder.
His family remembered a husband, father and grandfather.
Audiences remembered characters from films and television.
All those perspectives formed part of the evening.
The ceremony therefore became a collective record of how one performer was experienced by different people.
The End of a Career, Not the End of Its Influence
Jacobs’ death brought an end to a career that began more than five decades earlier.
But the work associated with that career remains accessible through films, television productions, theatre records and the institutions he helped establish.
His influence also remains embedded in the careers of performers who worked with him and the training structures connected to his name.
The September 30 ceremony demonstrated that legacy is not necessarily a single achievement.
It can be a collection of relationships, performances, institutions and memories accumulated over time.
Looking Ahead
As the Nigerian entertainment industry prepares for the final funeral rites on October 2, attention will continue to focus on the career and contribution of one of its veteran performers.
The public farewell has already brought together major figures from Nigerian theatre and film.
The final service will close the formal funeral programme announced by the family.
Beyond the ceremonies, Jacobs’ career will remain part of Nigeria’s entertainment history through the films he made, the performances colleagues remember, the awards he received and the creative institutions he helped establish.
His professional journey began before Nollywood acquired its present identity.
It continued through the growth of Nigerian television and film.
It reached audiences through international productions as well as Nigerian stories.
And it ended after more than five decades in an industry that had changed dramatically during his lifetime.
That breadth explains why the Night of Tributes drew performers from across generations.
For those who gathered at Glover Memorial Hall, the event was an opportunity to say goodbye.
For the wider entertainment industry, it was also a moment to document and reflect on a significant chapter of Nigerian performance history.
Olu Jacobs is now being remembered through the people who knew him, the audiences who watched him and the institutions connected to his work.
The Night of Tributes has placed those memories in one room.
The funeral on October 2 will bring the formal farewell to its conclusion.
What remains afterward is the body of work, the professional relationships and the creative infrastructure associated with a career that connected theatre, television and film across more than five decades.
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