UPDATED: Soyinka criticises Seyi Tinubu’s large, armed security escorts

Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka on Tuesday criticised the large number of armed security personnel that he saw accompanying Seyi Tinubu, the son of President Bola Tinubu.

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Mr Soyinka spoke in Lagos while presenting an honorary award to Odia Ofeimun, the famous poet and activist who was honoured by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.

Mr Soyinka mocked the situation by saying that President Bola Tinubu should not have deployed Nigerian soldiers and air force officials to Benin to foil Sunday’s attempted coup there but should instead have asked Seyi Tinubu to go with his armed security escorts to foil the coup.

Mr Soyinka said he counted at least “15 or so heavily armed to the teeth” security officials who accompanied the president’s son at a hotel in Ikoyi, Lagos.

He said he was so astonished by what he saw that he reached out to the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, to complain about it.

According to Mr Soyinka, he initially mistook the scene for a film production, but a young man detached himself from the group to greet him, and he only learned from his driver afterwards that the individual was Seyi Tinubu, the president’s son.

“I’ve just seen something I can’t believe, I don’t understand,” he recalled telling the official. “Do you mean that a child of the head of state goes around with an army for his protection or whatever? I couldn’t believe it.

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“Later on, I did some investigative journalism. And I enquired and I found that apparently, this is how this young man goes around with his battalion, his heavy armed soldiers,” he added. “Let’s not overdo things”

He argued that devoting such a contingent to a private citizen could undermine the country’s security framework.

He added that Nigeria was not the first nation with a head of state, and that presidential children should remain within appropriate boundaries.

“Children should know their place. They are not potentates,” he said.

He joked that if the country faced another insurrection, the president should simply call his son to deploy the troop-sized detail that follows him around.

“Next time there’s an insurrection, I think the president should just call that young man and say, go and put down those stupid people there. You have enough troops under your command, so don’t bother me with all the security issues any longer. Let’s not overdo things,” he cautioned.

Overstretched security personnel

The criticism comes weeks after President Tinubu ordered the withdrawal of police officers assigned to Very Important Persons (VIPs) across the country, directing that they refocus on their core duties of protecting the public.

The presidential directive, issued at a security meeting in Abuja with the police, Air Force, Army chiefs, and the Director-General of the State Security Service (SSS), stated that VIPs requiring personal protection must now request well-armed personnel from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

Nigeria’s worsening insecurity has put enormous pressure on the country’s already overstretched security forces.

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Despite rising incidents of banditry, kidnappings, and communal clashes, significant numbers of police and other security personnel are assigned to protect private individuals, including VIPs and political figures, rather than focusing on public safety.

The presidency has not commented on the remarks as of the time of this report