The late Professor Biodun Jeyifo, affectionately known as BJ, was a towering figure among conflict theorists, distinguished by his incisive and analytical mind. Deeply profound yet remarkably humble, his intellectual humility was honed through countless hours of study. A true dialectician, he refused to be enslaved by dogma, engaging perpetually in intellectual combat with Western narratives and cultural theories concerning literature, history, and historiography. His work frequently intersected with the themes of Paulo Freire’s “Pedagogy of the Oppressed,” particularly in its exploration of praxis and class struggle.

Nigerian universities, once vibrant arenas of intellectual combat, provided the backdrop for BJ’s indelible contributions. During a period marked by the raging Cold War, the siege of the Portuguese colonial empire, and mounting resistance against the Apartheid regime, these institutions became battlegrounds in the broader anti-Western and anti-imperialist struggle. It was within this dynamic environment that BJ left his mark as a scholar, meticulously reinterpreting, debunking, and reconstructing cultural and post-colonial theories. Across these universities, he cultivated a devoted following, drawn to his profound insights and challenging perspectives.

Another significant lifetime influence on Professor Biodun Jeyifo was his teacher and mentor, Professor Wole Soyinka, a renowned humanist and intellectual giant. Jeyifo’s scholarly engagements with Soyinka’s work remain among the most insightful interpretations of the iconoclast’s literary, political, and broader intellectual contributions. His seminal book, "Wole Soyinka: Politics, Poetics and Postcolonialism" (2004), stands as a powerful testament to this profound scholarly relationship.

Together with Professor Edward Said, Professor Biodun Jeyifo became a foundational figure in the comparative literary study of counter-narratives within colonial and post-colonial societies. Their work was instrumental in deconstructing Western social theories about the Orient and Africa, creating a new paradigm for understanding these regions. This rich field of study attracted scholars from diverse backgrounds, evolving into a mosaic of knowledge that stretched from psychiatry to development studies. Luminaries such as Frantz Fanon, with his work on colonialism and mental disorders, provided comprehensive documentation of the psychological dimensions of genocide in French Algeria. André Gunder Frank articulated “Dependency Theory,” while Issa G Shivji emerged as a radical critic of neoliberalism. The author's own teacher, Ankie Hoogvelt, contributed significantly to globalisation and post-colonial studies, later becoming an independent researcher on peace and nuclear disarmament. These references underscore the immense intellectual stature of Biodun Jeyifo.

The works of Edward Said and Biodun Jeyifo offered a refreshing discipline and a new frontier in comparative literature, cultural studies, and criticism, providing a vital paradigm for studying the Orient and African societies. Complex intellectual currents such as globalisation, post-industrialisation, cultural and development theories on Westernisation versus industrialisation, peace and conflict studies, democracy, digitisation, imperialism, and human rights converged into a narrow intellectual strait. Jeyifo expertly guided scholars through this intricate maritime space with clarity and purpose, thereby liberating inquiry and sharpening the interrogation of colonialism and colonisation, both as means and ends.

The violent interventions inherent in colonial manifestations inevitably spurred resistance, where race and religion often became secondary factors in the response to injustice and discrimination. In the literary sphere, writers and their creations were celebrated, debated, and appreciated, even when they challenged the establishment. Vibrant intellectuals in America and Europe, particularly from the structural-functionalist school focusing on 20th-century post-industrial societies, engaged in rigorous debates, with seminal works by Talcott Parsons and Samuel Huntington contributing significantly. Opposing them were conflict theorists, who critically examined the psychology of violence, conquest, avarice, plunder, rapacious exploitation, and the environmental devastation inflicted upon conquered societies. The narratives of the colonizer and the colonised, naturally, diverged. It is from this critical prism that Professor BJ’s immense contributions to English literature and critical scholarship are appreciated.

The author recounts a personal anecdote, having been invited to Professor Jeyifo’s 80th birthday lecture on January 5th in Lagos, an event he was unable to attend, instead sending a goodwill message. Sharing the same birth month, the author turned 72 just days after BJ’s birthday. The author laments the cruelty of death and its unfulfilled wishes, expressing regret for not having been physically present to honor him in Lagos. “Good night, Sir.” Yaro Yusuf Mamman, a former Nigerian ambassador to Spain, concludes this tribute.