During the launch of an endowment fund to mark the Arewa Consultative Forum’s (ACF) silver jubilee, General T. Y. Danjuma donated a hefty sum of one billion naira. The gesture by the Takum-born general has rekindled what could be described as a “T.Y. phenomenon,” and signals renewed prospects for unity in the North and, indeed, Nigeria. T.Y., as he is fondly called, represents different things to different people: a consummate general, business titan, opinion leader, and large-hearted philanthropist.

To others, he remains an enigma — a recluse of few but weighty words, a patriot who took enormous risks in shaping Nigeria. Above all, he is viewed as a man of uncommon balance, especially in the delicate realm of Nigeria’s military politics. He was the one who allegedly relinquished an opportunity to become Head of State in the aftermath of the 1976 coup d’état — all in the interest of fairness and national balance.

After Murtala Muhammed’s assassination, Olusegun Obasanjo, then second-in-command, was to take over. Danjuma felt it proper and just to retain that arrangement. He also ceded the position of Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, to a junior colleague, Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, who was then a Lt.Colonel, to ensure the top hierarchy reflected the country’s ethno-religious diversity. He maintained his role as Chief of Army Staff until the regime exited in 1979. It was during this period that he delivered his now-famous terse instruction to Ibrahim Babangida during the Dimka-led coup attempt: “Go and flush him out. I didn’t ask you to negotiate.” This came when IBB attempted to explain certain issues to him.

He was also alleged to have exhibited similar decisiveness during the counter-coup by northern officers — the so-called “rematch” — that toppled the Balewa government in July 1966. T.Y.’s last major public service role was as Minister of Defence under President Olusegun Obasanjo between 1999 and 2003 — a government he helped bring about as part of national healing after the annulment of the June 12 election believed to be won by M. K. O. Abiola.

Afterwards, T.Y. transitioned fully into private business and excelled. Today, he ranks among the biggest players in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry and has consistently featured among Forbes’ wealthiest Nigerians. His NAL-Comet Group, a shipping enterprise, and South Atlantic Petroleum Limited remain influential in the private sector. As part of his corporate social responsibility and personal philosophy of giving back, the T.Y. Danjuma Foundation was established. It has since become a major philanthropic force, providing grants and assistance to thousands of less privileged Nigerians.

At 86 (born in 1938), T.Y. has seen it all — veni, vidi, vici: he came, he saw, and he conquered. After a tumultuous military career, he entered the business world seamlessly. Today, he stands as an elder statesman whose voice carries enormous weight. His periodic interventions on national issues — especially security — are blunt, prophetic, and often vindicated by unfolding events.

As far back as 2012, he described the activities of Boko Haram, then mainly restricted to Borno and Yobe, as “war.” Authorities in those states refuted him. Younger voices mocked him. The revered General Mamman Shuwa — his contemporary — was even persuaded to publicly rebut Danjuma’s claims. Ironically, it was Boko Haram that later assassinated Shuwa on 2 November 2012 in Maiduguri.

A few years later, T.Y. assessed the escalating armed herder–farmer conflict in Taraba and the wider Middle Belt and warned communities to defend themselves, including by procuring arms — just as terrorists were doing. He alleged collusion within the security forces and warned of an unfolding anarchy. That was in 2018. The government and military high command issued strong rebuttals. Yet, his predictions have materialised almost exactly as he feared.

Today, several states in the Northwest — including Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi, Katsina, and parts of Kaduna and Niger — are forming and equipping vigilante volunteers to fight terrorists. The Federal Government has directed states to establish “forest rangers.” Results have been mixed. Some communities have even entered “peace agreements” with bandits to survive — with limited success. It is believed that in Katsina, about 20 of the 34 LGAs remain under severe threat. Numerous states have been forced to shut schools owing to renewed abductions. Again, T.Y.’s warnings stand vindicated.

Ordinarily, the General should be held in the highest esteem across the North — and he is, to a large extent. Yet he has not been spared the region’s ethno-religious tensions. The relationship between followers of Islam and Christianity in Northern Nigeria has long been fraught. As a Christian, T.Y. has been accused by some of not playing the unifying role that destiny appears to have placed upon him, especially in his later years.

He is suspected by some of quietly supporting certain divisive positions of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) — much in the same way some Muslim elites support their own sectarian groups. Others point to his alleged closeness to aspects of the Middle Belt Forum’s agenda that may be perceived as unfavourable to northern cohesion. For some sections of the North, these stances fall below his towering national stature.

The “disappointment” many express arises from reverence. To them, his perceived tilt toward ethno-religious politics diminishes the prestige of his ancient Kwararrafah heritage. The Kwararrafah Confederacy was one of the great indigenous polities of the Nigerian savannah — rivalling the Hausa city-states and Kanem-Bornu in the 14th century.

In modern Nigeria, no ethnic group is more broadly Nigerian — or more inherently northern — than the Kwararrafah and its famous son, Danjumma. Naturally, the North should have been T.Y.’s cultural and historical home, ahead of many others. His one-billion-naira gesture to the ACF would not only dispels many of the suspicions once cast upon him but to re-cement his place as one of the profound and bonafide Northern voices.

Many others may have made similar donations and even more, but the General’s own carries greater symbolism and significance.It affirms that he has both the North, a region currently under serious stress, and Nigeria, at heart. The T.Y. phenomenon is back — and in grand style. May the General live long.
A. G. Abubakar
agbarewa@gmail.com