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VIDEO: Wole Soyinka, Pyrates honour literary icon Biodun Jeyifo

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VIDEO: Wole Soyinka, Pyrates honour literary icon Biodun Jeyifo
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A screenshot of Wole Soyinka and the Pyrates. Credit: X|

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Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka led members of the Pyrates Confraternity as they paid their last respects to Biodun Jeyifo.n

In a video shared on X (formerly Twitter) by OyoAffairs on Wednesday, Soyinka was seen with other members during the farewell ceremony held in honour of the late scholar.n

Jeyifo, an emeritus professor of African literature, was laid to rest in Ibadan on Wednesday.n

PUNCH reports that while speaking at the gathering, Soyinka recalled Jeyifo’s academic brilliance and personality during his time at the University of Ibadan.

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“At the University of Ibadan, when he was graduating in English Literature, he swept all the minor subjects with clean ‘As’, but in my department, he got a ‘B’. Even with a ‘B’, BJ was obviously a first-class student.n

“BJ did not disappoint in the English Department — lectures, seminars and an ‘A’ mind. He was a bizarre man, and you dared not trust BJ with a letter. He would carry the letter from Lagos to America and then bring it back to Lagos.n

“You would meet him and ask, ‘BJ, what happened to the letter?’ And he would say, ‘I took the letter to America, but I brought it back also.’ That was BJ.”

n

The gathering formed part of activities celebrating his life and legacy, as he was widely known for his contributions to African literature and scholarship.n

Watch video below:n

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In a video shared on X (formerly Twitter) by OyoAffairs on Wednesday, Soyinka was seen with other members during the farewell ceremony held in honour of the late scholar.n

Jeyifo, an emeritus professor of African literature, was laid to rest in Ibadan on Wednesday.n

PUNCH reports that while speaking at the gathering, Soyinka recalled Jeyifo’s academic brilliance and personality during his time at the University of Ibadan.

n
nnn
n

“At the University of Ibadan, when he was graduating in English Literature, he swept all the minor subjects with clean ‘As’, but in my department, he got a ‘B’. Even with a ‘B’, BJ was obviously a first-class student.n

“BJ did not disappoint in the English Department — lectures, seminars and an ‘A’ mind. He was a bizarre man, and you dared not trust BJ with a letter. He would carry the letter from Lagos to America and then bring it back to Lagos.n

“You would meet him and ask, ‘BJ, what happened to the letter?’ And he would say, ‘I took the letter to America, but I brought it back also.’ That was BJ.”

n

The gathering formed part of activities celebrating his life and legacy, as he was widely known for his contributions to African literature and scholarship.n

Watch video below:n

n

n
n

Jeyifo, an emeritus professor of African literature, was laid to rest in Ibadan on Wednesday.n

PUNCH reports that while speaking at the gathering, Soyinka recalled Jeyifo’s academic brilliance and personality during his time at the University of Ibadan.

n
nnn
n

“At the University of Ibadan, when he was graduating in English Literature, he swept all the minor subjects with clean ‘As’, but in my department, he got a ‘B’. Even with a ‘B’, BJ was obviously a first-class student.n

“BJ did not disappoint in the English Department — lectures, seminars and an ‘A’ mind. He was a bizarre man, and you dared not trust BJ with a letter. He would carry the letter from Lagos to America and then bring it back to Lagos.n

“You would meet him and ask, ‘BJ, what happened to the letter?’ And he would say, ‘I took the letter to America, but I brought it back also.’ That was BJ.”

n

The gathering formed part of activities celebrating his life and legacy, as he was widely known for his contributions to African literature and scholarship.n

Watch video below:n

n

n
n

PUNCH reports that while speaking at the gathering, Soyinka recalled Jeyifo’s academic brilliance and personality during his time at the University of Ibadan.

n
nnn
n

“At the University of Ibadan, when he was graduating in English Literature, he swept all the minor subjects with clean ‘As’, but in my department, he got a ‘B’. Even with a ‘B’, BJ was obviously a first-class student.n

“BJ did not disappoint in the English Department — lectures, seminars and an ‘A’ mind. He was a bizarre man, and you dared not trust BJ with a letter. He would carry the letter from Lagos to America and then bring it back to Lagos.n

“You would meet him and ask, ‘BJ, what happened to the letter?’ And he would say, ‘I took the letter to America, but I brought it back also.’ That was BJ.”

n

The gathering formed part of activities celebrating his life and legacy, as he was widely known for his contributions to African literature and scholarship.n

Watch video below:n

n

n
n

“At the University of Ibadan, when he was graduating in English Literature, he swept all the minor subjects with clean ‘As’, but in my department, he got a ‘B’. Even with a ‘B’, BJ was obviously a first-class student.n

“BJ did not disappoint in the English Department — lectures, seminars and an ‘A’ mind. He was a bizarre man, and you dared not trust BJ with a letter. He would carry the letter from Lagos to America and then bring it back to Lagos.n

“You would meet him and ask, ‘BJ, what happened to the letter?’ And he would say, ‘I took the letter to America, but I brought it back also.’ That was BJ.”

n

The gathering formed part of activities celebrating his life and legacy, as he was widely known for his contributions to African literature and scholarship.n

Watch video below:n

n

n
n

“BJ did not disappoint in the English Department — lectures, seminars and an ‘A’ mind. He was a bizarre man, and you dared not trust BJ with a letter. He would carry the letter from Lagos to America and then bring it back to Lagos.n

“You would meet him and ask, ‘BJ, what happened to the letter?’ And he would say, ‘I took the letter to America, but I brought it back also.’ That was BJ.”

n

The gathering formed part of activities celebrating his life and legacy, as he was widely known for his contributions to African literature and scholarship.n

Watch video below:n

n

n
n

“You would meet him and ask, ‘BJ, what happened to the letter?’ And he would say, ‘I took the letter to America, but I brought it back also.’ That was BJ.”

n

The gathering formed part of activities celebrating his life and legacy, as he was widely known for his contributions to African literature and scholarship.n

Watch video below:n

n

n
n

The gathering formed part of activities celebrating his life and legacy, as he was widely known for his contributions to African literature and scholarship.n

Watch video below:n

n

n
n

Watch video below:n

n

n
n

𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐎: 𝐖𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐚, 𝐏𝐲𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐈𝐜𝐨𝐧 𝐁𝐢𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐧 𝐉𝐞𝐲𝐢𝐟𝐨n

Credit: X | Oyo -Affairsn

—
nFollow us for more breaking news and videos pic.twitter.com/vKWwqQcvVNn

— Punch Newspapers (@MobilePunch) March 5, 2026


Credit: X | Oyo -Affairsn

—
nFollow us for more breaking news and videos pic.twitter.com/vKWwqQcvVNn

— Punch Newspapers (@MobilePunch) March 5, 2026


—
nFollow us for more breaking news and videos pic.twitter.com/vKWwqQcvVNn

— Punch Newspapers (@MobilePunch) March 5, 2026


— Punch Newspapers (@MobilePunch) March 5, 2026

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This article originally appeared on Punch Nigeria

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