Family, friends, Nollywood giants and political heavyweights filed into This Present House, Lekki Phase 1, to bid farewell to a legend — Chief Oludotun Baiyewu Jacobs, who died September 16 at 84.
It was not just a funeral. It was a national salute to five decades of stage, television and film mastery.
A Song That Broke Hearts
The mood cracked early.
Entertainment star Darey Art Alade mounted the stage and sang his hit, “Pray For Me” — the same song whose video featured Olu Jacobs and his beloved wife, Joke Silva, in their prime.
Tears flowed. It was love on screen, love in life, and now love in death.
His son, Olugbenga Jacobs, read his father’s biography — from humble stage beginnings to becoming Nigeria’s most revered face. Another son, Olusoji, fought back tears as he gave the vote of thanks.
Pastor Tony Rapu, Head Pastor of This Present House, preached a fiery sermon on legacy, while prayers poured for the family.
Giants Gather For A Giant
Lagos shut down for the Lion.
Present were Deputy Governor Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, Lagos First Lady Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, former Ogun Governor Senator Ibikunle Amosun, Commissioner Toke Benson-Awoyinka, Mrs. Abimbola Fashola, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, and NIDCOM boss Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa.
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Hamzat captured the moment: “He believed Nigeria is great and will be great again despite our challenges.”
Nollywood came home. RMD, Norbert Young, Keppy Ekpeyong Bassey, Segun Arinze, Patrick Doyle and scores of others described him the same way — a father, strict but compassionate, a man who never lowered standards.
Beyond The Screen
With Joke Silva, Jacobs built more than movies. They built Lufodo Group and Lufodo Academy of Performing Arts — the factory that professionalised Nigerian theatre and trained generations.
The funeral came two days after an emotional Night of Tributes at Glover Memorial Hall, Lagos Island.
Yesterday’s service closed the formal mourning, but his echo remains.
Olu Jacobs was not just an actor. He was a national treasure. And though the curtain has fallen, the Lion of Lufodo still roars — in every actor he mentored, in every screen he lit, in every Nigerian who still believes in greatness.
