Theophilus Danjuma Biography: Early Life, Career, Business, Wives, Children & Net Worth
Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma GCON FSS psc (born December 9, 1938) is a Nigerian politician and retired lieutenant general who was instrumental in post-independence military and political events in Nigeria.
Theophilus Danjuma gained a huge fortune through shipping and petroleum. He served as Chief of Army Staff from July 1975 to October 1978. He was also the Minister of Defence during President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration.
Theophilus Danjuma Biography
Theophilus Danjuma was born in Takum, Northern Region (now Taraba State, Nigeria), to Kuru Danjuma and Rufkatu Asibi. Takum was mostly a farming town when Danjuma was young, with families and clans cultivating yams, rice, cassava, and beniseed.
His father was a hard-working peasant whose forebears were all well-regarded members of the village. Kuru Danjuma was a farmer who exchanged metal pieces for farm implements and tools.
Theophilus Danjuma Education
Danjuma began his education at St Bartholomew’s Primary School in Wusasa and later transferred to the Benue Provincial Secondary School in Katsina-Ala, where he was captain of the school cricket 1st XI team; he earned his Higher School Certificate in 1958.
Danjuma began studying history at the Nigerian College of Arts, Science, and Technology in Zaria (Ahmadu Bello University) in 1959, thanks to a Northern Nigeria scholarship. However, by the end of 1960, Danjuma had left university to join the Nigerian Army.
Career
Danjuma was officially commissioned into the Nigerian Army in 1963 as a second lieutenant and platoon commander in the Congo; three years later, he joined a UN Peacekeeping unit in Santé, Katanga Province, Congo, and was promoted to captain. Captain Danjuma was active in the Nigerian counter-coup of 1996 with the 4th Battalion in Mokola, Ibadan, as reported in 1966.
He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1967, at the start of the civil war campaign in Enugu, which was eventually captured. Danjuma led a group that liberated Jaja Wachuku from the Ojukwu regime near the end of the Nigerian Civil War.
Danjuma represented Nigeria at the International Court Martial in Trinidad and Tobago in 1970, where he was named president of the tribunal in a case involving members of a failed coup attempt.
Following his promotion to Colonel in 1971, he spent the following two years overseeing the court-martial of Army officers found guilty of corruption and indiscipline. In 1975, he was promoted to Brigadier and given the title of General Officer Commanding (GOC), and the following year he was appointed Chief of Army Staff under President Olusegun Obasanjo.
He played an important role in assisting the president in fighting the Dimka Coup in 1976. He retired from the Nigerian Army in 1979.
Business Ventures
Nigeria American Line (NAL), founded in 1979 by Danjuma, commenced operations and first chartered a ship called “Hannatu,” which sailed between Lagos and Santos in Brazil when Nigeria’s bilateral trade pact opened sea connections to South American economies.
NAL went on to obtain business from Nigeria’s National Supply Company (NNSC) to import government commodities. NAL’s expanding client base included DICON Salt (Nigeria), project cargoes for Iwopin Paper Mill, ANNAMCO, and Volkswagen Nigeria.
Danjuma formed COMET Shipping Agencies Nigeria Limited in 1984, principally as an agent for the Nigeria American Line (NAL).
Danjuma established South Atlantic Petroleum (SAPETRO), a Nigerian oil exploration and production business, in 1995. SAPETRO was given the Oil Prospecting License (OPL) 246 by Nigeria’s Ministry of Petroleum Resources in February 1998.
The block has an area of 2,590 square kilometres (1,000 square miles). SAPETRO collaborated with Total Upstream Nigeria Ltd (TUPNI) and Brasoil Oil Services Company Nigeria Ltd (Petrobras) to begin exploring for OPL246.
Akpo, a condensate field, was discovered in April 2000 during the drilling of the block’s first exploratory well (Akpo 1). Other finds on OPL 246 include the Egina Main, Egina South, Preowei, and Kuro. Kuro was halted as a dry gas/minor oil discovery.
In 2004, SAPETRO’s Benin affiliate secured an oil exploration contract worth 550 square kilometres offshore from the Republic of Benin following a competitive tender process. SAPETRO was granted Oil Mining Lease (OML) 130 in February 2005, and the federal government thereafter provided support through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
In June 2006, SAPETRO sold a portion of its contractor rights and responsibilities to China National Offshore Oil Corporation. SAPETRO generated its “first oil” (condensate) on March 4, 2009. SAPETRO provided Nasarawa State University with a new cutting-edge medical facility in December 2009.
The medical centre, to be named the South Atlantic Petroleum Medical Centre, would service the University as well as the surrounding community.
Danjuma was appointed Board Chairman by NatCom Development & Investment Limited (“NatCom,” trading as ntel). The statement was made in July 2016, following Danjuma’s first board meeting. On April 8, 2016, ntel began commercial operations for its 4G/LTE-Advanced network in Lagos and Abuja.
ntel is an innovative mobile 4G/LTE network that offers speedy internet access and high-definition voice, data, and video services. The company made its first on-net test data call in Lagos on Monday, January 18, 2016, followed by its first on-net Voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) connection in Lagos on Thursday, February 25, 2016. Commercial operations began on Friday, April 8, 2016.
Theophilus Danjuma Wives
Danjuma is married to Daisy Ukpomwan Ehanire Danjuma, a former Nigerian senator (2003–2007) and business executive. She co-manages the family’s economic holdings, which include South Atlantic Petroleum (SAPETRO). Both have children from previous marriages.
Theophilus Danjuma Children
Daisy has two children from her first marriage to Henry Omenai: Yuki and Osagie Omenai. TY’s children include Ishaya (married to Miss World 2001, Agbani Darego) and Theo Danjuma, a London-based artist.
Theophilus Danjuma Net Worth
Theophilus Danjuma’s net worth is predicted to be approximately $1.1 billion by 2025. His riches is the result of his various investments in energy, maritime logistics, and real estate.
