MUSA DANJUMA

Musa Danjuma is into shipping and maritime trade through Nigeria-America Line and Comet Shipping Agencies Nigeria Ltd. He also runs a port terminal company, Fivestar Logistics Ltd, which is the concessionaire managing the RoRo Port at Tin Can Island. Then there is Tarabaroz Nigeria Ltd, a fishing company. Others companies under his belt are the trading company, Best Trade Nigeria Ltd, Plantgeria Ltd and Tethys-Plantgeria which operate supply boats that go to the oil rigs and also do electrical instrumentation. Another factory under his belt is Danelec in Calabar, which produces electrical transformers and last but not the least, there is Best Land and Sea Services company that brings in mud and chemicals used for drilling. Musa is also into real estate with houses in high end areas like Banana Island, Ikoyi, Victoria Island, Lekki and Abuja.

With such a robust and impressive portfolio, it is not far-fetched to conclude that Musa is a man of great means who does not do things in half measures. From his professional to personal life, he settles for nothing but the best. Musa does go the extra mile to ensure his high standards are met in anything he purchases or partakes in, whether it is yet another business venture or just a simple dinner party he throws for his guests. Musa turned 67 recently and had a chat with RUTH OSIME on what basically makes him tic. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood?

I was the last child of my father and mother. My brother was already a young man in college and he came home and discovered that the mother was pregnant. He said that I am an accident because I was not expected. Like all last children and by the fact that I was alone due to the gap, I was a favoured child. I had first cousins that I grew up with, went to primary school in Takum (Taraba State). My father was a farmer and a trader in commodities such as soyabeans, beniseed and salt; some sourced from his farm and from others. He would stock them and then send them to Makurdi for sale at higher price. Meanwhile I was in school, very young and not ordinarily involved in his business per se but I would oversee the stock, count them and make sure they were what he ordered. Also, when they were sold, I ensured that proper accounting was done. However, this phase of my life did not last very long because my brother was in the Nigerian Army, I think he was a lieutenant at this time based in Kaduna. He took me to St Batholomew’s Primary school in Wusasa Zaria which was the school he attended. I was about 13 at this time. Were you close to your mother?

Oh yes, very close, I was my mother’s boy. I would go to school, come back and help her. My father was already old when I was a boy and he needed assistance to send me here and there, to do chores. And I was also taking extra lessons at school which took my time too. They wanted to make sure I did well in school. Then there was a lot of discipline and corporal punishment if you don’t do your home work. Some of my school mates were withdrawn from school because their father would not tolerate them being disciplined. Many of those regretted later on. You see, you must do your home work and you must not be late or absent from school. In those days, corporal punishment was allowed and parents were expected not to interfere. But while some parents interfered and withdrew their children, some of the children refused to go to school because they would not take the discipline. Do you tell your children these stories?

I was telling my children that I used to go to Gindiri Secondary School in Plateau State from Takum, and in those days, it took two to three days by lorry. Today, it takes just three hours. You were in the lorry with goats, with yams, sometimes they carry monkeys. Sometimes, the road was closed because it had rained and the road was not motorable. At every point, there were checkpoints where they checked people for tax. If you were big enough, like big boys with beards, they would ask your age and challenge you to pay tax. All these took time, and we would sleep on the road those three days, unlike what happens nowadays. I took my son, David, to London to go to school. We used to fly business class whenever we were going on holidays, with him, his mother and brother. But now I said, David, you are a young man, you are going to school, you have to sit in the economy class. I bought him an economy class ticket. Before we boarded, I explained to him that now you have to learn to be independent, you have to sit in the economy class because a tree grows from the ground up. Your brother will soon be joining you. I cannot be buying business class ticket for the two of you. It’s expensive and it’s not even good for you. He said Daddy I understand. Soon, we were airborne. He came to my sit and started crying. He said Daddy this is not fair. (General laughter). I reminded him that I used to travel for three days at the back of a lorry with monkeys, goats and yam to go to school.

The problem is that we go after business so much that we forget about ourselves. We don’t find time for ourselves and that is why sometimes you find sudden health problems. We work and we don’t play. We don’t relax or unwind. That is not good.

Who has played a major role in making you the person you are today?

Of course, it’s my brother. You know people have role models that they only know from afar. They know them as a big figure whom they admire because they have achieved greatness in official capacities. But this is a man I know both in official capacity, what he achieved for the nation, and also personally, in private as a family figure because I lived with him as a child. To me, he is larger than life. He’s a biological brother but he’s actually a father. He’s wearing a very big shoe which I cannot even attempt to wear. He’s a mentor, a role model, very passionate and connected to his family. What did you enjoy most whilst growing up that you feel is missing in today’s generation?

Discipline, privacy, you don’t have it now. Now we have Facebook and Twitter, etc. In fact, you can be undressed very easily; it’s very easy for you to be destroyed. Morality is gone. I have people sending me virtually naked pictures. You see all sorts of things now. My son would tell me, why don’t you want us to watch TV in the night? Is it because of sex? I have seen it all. This boy is about five or six. You can never imagine telling that to your father during your younger days?

Never. Never. My son went to school and the school put him on discipline. He was toasting the girls about sex in the school. This is a nine-year-old boy. All in all, in as much as technology has advanced, it’s of benefit to us. You can pick up this phone and send message on message on WhatsApp, pictures across the globe or messages tweeting, texting. Communication is awesome.