Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka has voiced alarm over the military-scale security detail guarding Seyi Tinubu, son of President Bola Tinubu, saying the contingent is large enough to suppress an insurrection and reflects a dangerous misplacement of national security resources.Read Full Original
In a viral video, Soyinka recounted mistaking the armed entourage at an Ikoyi hotel for a film set, only to learn it was the president’s son moving under heavy guard.
Key Points:
Soyinka described encountering a “small battalion” of armed personnel with Seyi Tinubu in Lagos
He initially thought a movie was being filmed due to the scale of the security presence.
The playwright said he was so disturbed that he tried to contact the National Security Adviser
Soyinka stressed that “children should know their place” and not be treated as heads of state.
He sarcastically suggested the president could send his son’s detail to quell future unrest
The remarks highlight tensions over VIP security amid widespread national insecurity.
Soyinka warned that such deployments weaken Nigeria’s overall security architecture
When protection becomes performance, it exposes a painful disconnect between privilege and public need. Soyinka’s sharp critique underscores a national tension: in a country grappling with widespread insecurity, the spectacle of armed escorts for a president’s son feels less like safety and more like a satire of a broken system.Read Full Original
Sources: The Cable, Premium Times