Nigeria, Feb. 11 -- Professor Emeritus Biodun Jeyifo, a Nigerian academic and literary critic widely regarded as one of the foremost scholars of Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, has died. He was 80.

The President of the Nigerian Academy of Letters, Andrew Haruna, announced Mr Jeyifo's death in a statement on Wednesday, saying the scholar passed away on 11 February.

Known to colleagues and students as "Professor BJ", Mr Jeyifo built a distinguished academic career that began at the then University of Ife, before he held dual teaching appointments at Cornell University and Harvard University in the United States.

In January, an international scholarly gathering was held at the MUSON Centre in Lagos to mark his 80th birthday. The event drew a...