Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka on Wednesday led members of the National Association of Seadogs, also known as the Pyrates Confraternity, in a symbolic farewell for renowned literary scholar Biodun Jeyifo in Ibadan.
The ceremony took place at the Anglican Cemetery, St James the Great Cathedral Burial Ground in Ijokodo.
Members of the confraternity performed traditional “sailing” rites to honour Jeyifo, who died on February 11, just weeks after celebrating his 80th birthday in Lagos.
Mourners arrived to find Pyrates members dressed in white shirts, black trousers, and red regalia.
They sang, drummed, and danced as they awaited Soyinka’s arrival. The Nobel laureate later joined the procession, walking ahead with a sword while members followed in formation, chanting confraternity songs.
Soyinka Leads Pyrates Farewell Rites
At the graveside, the group sang “Another sayle, Jellu sayle / Pyrates are sailing to Tortuga,” before gathering to pay final respects.
Jeyifo’s children, Okunola, Lekan, and Ayoka, attended alongside grandchildren, colleagues, and members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), where he served as pioneer president.
The Pyrates closed the ceremony with another anthem: “Pyrates sail again / We shall sail on earth / We shall sail in heaven / Pyrates sail again.”
The ritual, known as a “Pyratical burial,” is reserved for confraternity members to mark their symbolic passage to Elysium.
Founded in 1952 at University College Ibadan by Soyinka and six others, the Pyrates Confraternity has evolved into the National Association of Seadogs, a humanitarian group advocating social justice and good governance.
After the burial, Jeyifo’s family and associates visited former governor Rashidi Ladoja, further honouring his legacy in Ibadan’s intellectual and cultural life.
Through the rites, Soyinka and the confraternity celebrated Jeyifo as both a fellow Pyrate and a towering figure in African literary scholarship.
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