General TY Danjuma GCON (Rtd) had an illustrious 19-year career in the Nigerian Army. During this time he rose to the rank of Lieutenant General and served as Chief of Army Staff before he retired in 1979 – aged 40.
He then focused on his business career, which has seen him become a distinguished and highly successful businessman with over 40 years’ experience – founding many Nigerian companies including the NAL-Comet Group (one of the most successful indigenous shipping agencies and terminal operators in Nigeria) and South Atlantic Petroleum Limited (an oil exploration and production company). In 2008, General TY Danjuma set up TY Danjuma Foundation – a private, independent grant-making philanthropic organisation based in Abuja, Nigeria – to aid less-fortunate citizens in Nigeria.
General TY Danjuma sits on the board of several publicly quoted and privately owned companies in Nigeria – spanning all kinds of global sectors – and is a strong supporter of democracy in Nigeria. When Nigeria returned to democracy in 1999, General TY Danjuma accepted an appointment as Minister of Defence to president Olusegun Obasanjo’s Cabinet (1999-2003) – the only government position he has ever held. In 2010, he accepted a purely advisory role as the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Council by the then-acting-president Goodluck Jonathan, during prevailing difficulties between March and May of that year.
As for national honours, General TY Danjuma was named Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) – the highest award given in Nigeria to a non-head of state. He also has several other national and international awards and titles, as well as honorary doctorate degrees from notable Nigerian and foreign universities.
In 2011, he was recognised as the Leadership Person of the Year by the Leadership Board of Editors in Nigeria. Two years later, the Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji (Dr.) Shehu Idris CFR, conferred the highly esteemed title of Jarmai Zazzau on General TY Danjuma, where he then served as a Chairman of the Victims’ Support Fund Committee – supporting the victims of terror such as the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping. In 2015, he was awarded the ‘Champion for the Conservation of Biodiversity’ award by president Muhammadu Buhari GCFR. More recently, General TY Danjuma was appointed as a Chairman of the Committee to rehabilitate infrastructure and resettle internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the North-East sub-region of Nigeria. In July 2016 General TY Danjuma was appointed as Board Chairman of Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL).