Gen. Danjuma’s Metamorphosis By Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo. Captain Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma came into prominence when he led a group of soldiers to abduct the former head of state, Gen. Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi and his host, the military governor of Western region, Lieutenant Colonel Adekunle Fajuyi, from government house Ibadan on the night of July 29, 1966. Under Danjuma’s orders, Gen. Aguiyi-Ironsi was spat on, slapped, kicked and punched. With Ironsi’s hands tied behind his back with telephone cord, Danjuma’s soldiers crushed his testicles with their military boots. Ironsi was then dragged on the ground from a moving military Range Rover, skin torn by gravels on the road, blood oozed from his mouth, face swelled, bones cracked and body parts dismembered. And finally he was shot several times and his bullet-ridden, mangled body was dumped in a forest near Iwo road. And so saw his host, Fajuyi. It would be absolutely unfair not to present Danjuma’s foolproof defense: he refused to break Ironsi’s crocodile swagger stick as demanded by the soldiers who feared that Ironsi would disappear. According to Danjuma, as a result of that, the soldiers abandoned him and left on their own with Ironsi. In any case, as far as Danjuma was concerned, Ironsi was an evil man. In a 2008 interview with the Guardian newspaper, Danjuma described Ironsi as “a useless desk-clerk Head of State.” In the eyes of Danjuma, Ironsi represented all that was wrong with Nigeria of those years. Danjuma was part of a band of brothers passionate about reversing Nigeria’s slow descent into anarchy. For accomplishing such brutal act as he did on Ironsi, Danjuma earned his chops in Nigeria’s emerging leadership hierarchy. In 1967, Gen. Yakubu Gowon who became president following the murder of Gen. Aguiyi Ironsi by Danjuma promoted Danjuma to a Lieutenant Colonel. Danjuma went on to play his part in the 1966-1970 Biafra-Nigeria Civil War. In 1971, he was promoted to a Colonel. In 1975, Danjuma was in the camp of Gen. Murtala Mohammed who overthrew General Gowon in a coup. After heading the team that court-martialed corrupt army officers, Danjuma was promoted to a Brigadier and named a General Officer Commanding the 3 Division. In 1976, he helped to frustrate Col. Dimka’s coup during which the Head of State was assassinated. Following the assassination of Gen. Murtala Mohammed, the new Head of State, General Olusegun Obasanjo, named Danjuma the Chief of Army Staff.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Jun 2013 12:54:26 +0000
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