President Bola Tinubu on Saturday met with retired General and elder statesman Theophilus Danjuma at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the presidency has confirmed.
Although, details of the discussions were not disclosed in the brief official statement, Danjuma—now 87 and a towering figure in the nation’s political and military history—has long been consulted by leaders on national security matters.
A Taraba-born billionaire with stakes in oil through his South Atlantic Petroleum firm, General Danjuma served as Chief of Army Staff from 1975-79 under military regime of Olusegun Obasanjo, and later as Defence Minister defence in Obasanjo’s civilian government from 1999-2003.
He played a key role in the 1966 counter-coup that installed General Yakubu Gowon as Head of State.
General Danjuma, whose TY Danjuma Foundation funds philanthropy across health and education, has remained outspoken on insecurity.
In 2018, he ignited controversy by calling on Nigerians to take up arms in self-defence, claiming the security forces had failed vulnerable communities.
