The veteran Nollywood actor, Olu Jacobs, has passed away at 84, following a battle with dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLS). Olu Jacobs was a true champion of Nigerian cinema having graced blockbuster films like Ashanti (1979), One Fine Day (2015), Smoke And Mirrors (2008), The Royal Hibiscus Hotel (2017), and many more. 

His legacy is woven into the fabric of Nollywood and he is rightly regarded as one of the father figures of the industry. Olu Jacobs is respected and admired by many. Among some of his last films before his downhill battle with the degenerative brain disease is The Royal Hibiscus Hotel, a story conceived by Mo Abudu among others and directed by Ishaya Bako. The Nigerian comedy film stars Olu Jacobs as Richard alongside his wife, Joke-Silva, who was cast as Augustina.

The couple has been married since 1989 after a chance meeting on stage where they both happened to be casted for a Wole Soyinka’s play called Jero’s Metamorphosis. Joke Silva said about their first moments together in an interview on Your View, a breakfast show by the Nigerian television station, TVC, "For him, it was love at first sight, but for me, it wasn’t." She talked about his reverence in the Nigerian film industry saying, "Everyone knew the great Olu Jacobs was coming (to work on Jero's Metamorphosis), except me." 

The Great Olu Jacobs, also fondly known as The Lion of Lufodo, had an academic background in acting and film. He went to The Royal Academy Of Dramatic Arts, a drama school in London with notable alumni like Wunmi Mosaku of Sinners, David Warner of Titanic, Aimee Lou Wood of The White Lotus, Cynthia Erivo of Wicked and many other international film stars. He would go on to appear in movies with Hollywood stars in the 1970s and 1980s before choosing to return to Nollywood.

Jacobs is widely acknowledged for the impact his years-long career had on the industry and he has gotten multiple awards on multiple occasions. One of his notable awards was given to him by the then-Nigerian president, Goodluck Jonathan in 2011 where he was awarded the national honour of a Member of the Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to recognise his service to the Nigerian entertainment industry. 

Joke Silva and Olu Jacobs are one of the most beloved and celebrated couples in Nollywood. Silva shared with Dr Stephen Akintayo on his Leadership podcast about how much influence Jacobs had in the decision to keep her stage name as Joke Silva: "He said it was already a brand and he didn’t want it to affect me later." The couple who have been married for more than 35 years have two children; Olusoji Jacobs and Gbenga Jacobs. 

They also founded a theatre and film company called Lufodo Group. A prestigious company who manages the historic Glover Memorial Hall named after a former colonial administrator and former Governor of Lagos, Sir John Hawley Glover. The hall hosted Sanwo-Olu in 2022 as he dished out interest-free loans to Nollywood filmmakers. Lufodo also partnered with Netflix to train Nigerian actors which was unsurprising for a company with two acclaimed actors at its centre. 

Joke Silva has been open about the struggles she encountered as a wife married to someone with dementia with Lewy Bodies. She first opened up about the actor's condition in 2021 in an interview with Jideonwo Chude,  “He is dealing with issues, and it's been going on for a couple of years. It's a degenerative disease that affects the brain, and it's almost like a kind of Parkinson's, but that's just it's the brain that it affects, so you don't see the shaking and things like that, it just affects the person."

In another interview with actress Nancy Isime, she opened up about her feelings and how the illness affected her family. "There was a point of acceptance for me that everything happening is reality and it is like the person I married, 80 percent of the time is no longer there." In the same 2023 interview, Silva added, "So in this journey of dementia now, it is like I am looking after my father. The husband I knew is no more and there for me but this man that is here is someone I still love."

After his son announced the death of Jacobs some days ago, condolences came from every big name in Nollywood and beyond the film industry. The Actor's Guild Of Nigeria (AGN), Lagos State Chapter, issued a statement mourning the cultural icon of African cinema, Mercy Johnson described him as a legend, Mo Abudu of Ebonylife said of the actor: "Uncle Olu was more than an extraordinary actor. He was a presence, a voice and a master of his craft." More condolences came from Toyin Abraham, Kate Henshaw, Richard Mofe-Damijo (RMD), Funke Akindele, among others. 

Political figures like Nigerian Presidential aspirant,  Peter Obi, described Jacobs in a' statement posted on X as a symbol of excellence in different artistic fields. The president of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, joined other Nigerians to give him a tribute, referring to him as a "giant in the Nigerian creative industry."

The death of Olu Jacobs is one that was felt by everyone. The Lion of Lufodo as his first son, Olusoji Jacobs called him, has gone to rest. History would forever cherish the legacy of the man that captured people on screens and in real-life, from Nigeria to Britain.

Cover Credit via Olu Jacobs’ Instagram 

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