Former military chief, Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma, understands that to become fabulously wealthy and to earn great fame are triumphs not of humanity, but of vanity. For several decades of his robust entrepreneurship, Danjuma has desisted from revelling in vanity. Unlike his fellow billionaires who are so far removed from their immediate reality, the Taraba-born former Defence Minister would never splurge on trifles.
The 88-year old wealthy tycoon —with interest in diverse lucrative sectors of the economy including telecoms, oil and gas, real estate, pharmaceuticals, hospitality and maritime— is a Forbes-rated philanthropist who has quietly spent hundreds of millions on charity causes, making him one of Africa’s largest and biggest philanthropists. He is simply matchless in depth and humanity.
In his usual unobtrusive style of splashing his wealth on critical and important causes, Danjuma has done it again. The octogenarian billionaire, through his company, South Atlantic Petroleum (SAPETRO) recently donated the sum of ₦1 billion to the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF) to boost the state’ security architecture. This latest contribution, which ranks among the most significant single private-sector donations to the Fund in recent years, is coming on the heels of a similar huge donation from another tycoon and philanthropist, Dr. Mike Adenuga to the purse of the Security Trust Fund. Danjuma’s gesture was another big lift for public safety efforts in Lagos as the donation will reinforce the commitment of the security funding agency to support critical security infrastructure and community well-being across Lagos.
Beyond his kind heart and SAPETRO’s responsible corporate citizenship, it’s no brainer why Danjuma would splash such an amount to protect the state. The city has been his base —like forever. He is a top stakeholder in the prosperity of the city as he equally invested heavily in the city. His SAPETRO, an oil exploration company, which owns upstream assets in Nigeria, Republic of Benin, the Central African Republic and Madagascar, has its operational headquarters in Lagos. Recently, Danjuma increased his investment in Lagos as he opened a multi-million dollar mega logistics hub located in Alaro City within the Lekki Free Zone, close to the Lekki Deep Seaport. It is safer to say Lagos has been so good to him. And this generous donation signposts his genuine love and appreciation for the city where his proverbial goose lay its golden eggs.
Credit: The Sun