Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka led members of the Pyrates Confraternity (National Association of Seadogs, which he co-founded in 1953 at the University of Ibadan as one of the “Magnificent Seven”) in paying final respects to Emeritus Professor Biodun Jeyifo, Peak Newspaper reports
Jeyifo, a legendary literary critic, Marxist scholar, and pioneer president of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), passed away on February 11, 2026, at age 80.
The photos below show Soyinka (in the confraternity’s signature red-and-white regalia alongside other members) leading the procession.
This is especially poignant and profound because:
1.0 Jeyifo was himself a Pyrate (initiated in 1967 at UI).
2.0 He was Soyinka’s former student and became the world’s foremost authority on Soyinka’s literature (author of major critical works on him).
3.0 Their shared history (teacher and brilliant interpreter, both committed to intellectual freedom and social justice) made this a full-circle moment.
Jeyifo’s burial drew academics, former students, and admirers from across Nigeria and beyond, celebrating his immense contributions to African literary studies and university activism.
