NIYI EGBE pays tribute to the academic and public intellectual who passed at 80 I first met Professor Biodun Jeyifo who passed on February 11, 2026 in his office in the Faculty of Arts, of the then University of Ife, in 1979. A student-big brother guide had taken me to him, explaining that I was from Igarra, Edo State, Jeyifo’s actual roots, though he was more associated with Ibadan where he grew up. He was warm, studied and wished me well. Being a student of Agriculture, our paths didn’t cross much beyond occasional visits. Anytime I saw and reminded him about the circumstances of our first contact, he readily recalled. We lost touch after I graduated in 1984. Popularly referred to as BJ, Prof Jeyifo was among the great philosophers who catalyzed the activists’ disposition of Ife studen...