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Security Personnel Around Seyi Tinubu Enough To Quell Insurrection In Benin Republic — Soyinka
…Nobel Laureate blasts ‘film-set style’ security convoy around President’s son
Nigeria’s Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has criticised what he described as an overly extravagant and unnecessary deployment of armed security operatives around Seyi Tinubu, son of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Speaking at the 20th Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) Awards in Lagos on Tuesday, Soyinka recounted how he mistook Seyi’s security entourage for a full-blown movie production set after encountering them at a hotel in Ikoyi.
According to the revered writer, he was stepping out of his hotel when he saw what looked like a coordinated film crew, only to realise they were heavily armed operatives attached to the president’s son.
“I saw nearly a whole battalion occupying the grounds of the hotel,” Soyinka said. “I joked about a film shoot until a young man greeted me politely. When my driver told me it was Seyi Tinubu, everything became clear.”
He noted that the mixed team of SWAT and other elite officers were “armed to the teeth,” estimating at least 15 operatives enough, in his words, “to take over a small neighbouring city like Benin.”
Alarmed by what he witnessed, Soyinka said he immediately attempted to reach National Security Adviser Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, who was in Paris with the president at the time, to seek clarity.
“I was so astonished I asked that they track down the NSA,” he said. “I described the scene because I simply could not understand that level of force around the president’s child.”
Soyinka emphasised that while presidents naturally have families who require protection, such privileges must not be abused or allowed to overshadow Nigeria’s security priorities.
His remarks have since sparked online debate, with many Nigerians questioning the cost, necessity and symbolism of such an overpowering security presence around non-elected individuals.
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