SUNTV Global Channel | February 11, 2026
Nigeria and the global academic community are mourning the death of renowned literary scholar and critic, Professor Emeritus Biodun Jeyifo, who passed away on Tuesday, February 11, 2026, at the age of 80.
The Nigerian Academy of Letters (NAL) confirmed his death in a statement issued on Wednesday by its President, Professor Andrew Haruna, describing Jeyifo’s passing as a profound loss to literary scholarship in Nigeria and beyond.
According to the academy, Professor Jeyifo maintained a decades-long relationship with the institution and was widely regarded as one of Nigeria’s most accomplished and influential literary critics. A Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Letters, he was celebrated for his exceptional scholarship, mentorship, and enduring contributions to intellectual life both locally and internationally.
Fondly known among colleagues and students as “Professor BJ,” Jeyifo began his distinguished academic career at the former University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), where he quickly earned recognition as a formidable voice in literary criticism and theory.
His academic influence later expanded to the United States, where he held dual teaching appointments at Cornell University and Harvard University, cementing his reputation as a scholar of global standing.
Professor Jeyifo was especially renowned as one of the world’s foremost authorities on Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka. His landmark book, Wole Soyinka: Politics, Poetics and Postcolonialism, published by Cambridge University Press in 2004, received international acclaim and multiple awards. The work is widely regarded as one of the most comprehensive single-author studies in African postcolonial literary criticism.
Beyond Soyinka scholarship, Jeyifo’s intellectual reach spanned world Anglophone literature, cultural theory, and postcolonial studies. Colleagues often praised his rare ability to blend analytical depth with clarity, making his work both rigorous and accessible.
In January 2026, scholars, writers, and cultural figures gathered at the MUSON Centre, Lagos, to celebrate his 80th birthday—an event that honoured a lifetime of outstanding contributions to literary studies and his lasting influence on generations of students and researchers.
Born on January 5, 1946, Professor Biodun Jeyifo’s career spanned several decades of teaching, research, and public intellectual engagement across Nigeria and the United States.
Announcing his death, the Nigerian Academy of Letters extended its condolences to his family, colleagues, and the wider academic community, describing his passing as “a significant loss to literary scholarship in Nigeria and beyond.”
SUNTV Global Channel reports.
