THE REVERED OLU JACOBS (A DIRGE)

The drums are silent tonight
It isn’t because the rhythm has ended
…but because a great life dancer has laid his two hands on his chest
Olu Jacobs, son of the stage
Performer of stories
The eloquent tongue with the deep powerful voice
One of showbiz’s big iroko trees
…under whose shade many actors found shelter
Has slept on his left side

This is a journey that bends toward the horizon
The stars gather like mourners around the sky’s courtyard
…whispering your name
…missing your game
Even as your remains is yet to sync with the earth
Whoever shall forget your authoritative voice
Which baptized hearts like deep ancestral rivers
Your aura
…steady as the footsteps of elders returning from the shrine
Your talent
…far above stardom and moondom and sundom
Whoever will forget
Whoever will forget you
… exists not

You acted before us not merely as a man
…but as a living archive In your eyes dwelt kingdoms
In your words lingered histories
And your silence is where entire generations found meaning
You were a living culture
Every fibre of your being screamed the African story

Now the earth has called you
…just as a mother calls her weary child
The stage weeps for well articulated lines that only you can deliver
The cameras will forever search for the king
…the pauper
…the wicked
…the embodiment of all roles
To no avail
The applause fades into the distance like a sorrowful song sung to surge into sanctity
Death is not a thief today
It is an old messenger
….opening a gate through which legends pass to become  ancestors
Beneath the celebratory immortal trees, storytellers and poets gather
To take inspiration from the tune of the griots’ ancient harps
As a master of great narrative acts approach eternal rest

Here on this earth you impacted,
We will always watch you live
…even in your rest
And feel “Maazi Olu still lives here
…here forever”
For the artist never dies
So rest well
Rest in power
Till our forever merge into a together
A together hopefully in our ancestral land
Amoafowa Sefa Cecilia © September 16, 2026. For the legendary actor Mr. Olu Jacobs. Thank you for being a part of a lovely time in Nollywood history. Some of us were blessed to grow with his works not only as a source of entertainment, but also as a source of education. May God richly bless his legacy. Picture by Google Pics.