Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka has criticised the heavy security surrounding President Bola Tinubu’s son, calling it excessive and a reflection of misplaced national priorities.
At the 20th Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) Awards in Lagos on Tuesday, Soyinka recalled seeing a strong armed presence around the president’s son at a hotel in Ikoyi.
“I was coming out of my hotel, and I saw what looked like a film set… No. I looked around, there was nearly a whole battalion occupying the ground of the hotel in Ikoyi. Some 15 or so heavily armed to the teeth security personnel looked sufficient to take over a small country neighbouring city like Benin,” he said.
Soyinka said he contacted the national security adviser to confirm if the deployment was justified. “I said I’ve just seen something I can’t believe… do you mean that a child of the head of state goes around with an army for his protection or whatever.” His checks revealed this level of protection is standard for the president’s son.
He joked that the security detail could handle threats abroad. “Tinubu didn’t have to send the air force and the military… Call that young man and say, ‘Seyi, go and put down those stupid people there. You have troops under your command’.”
Soyinka warned that while leaders may have families, the privilege must not be abused. “Children should know their place. They are not potentates; they are not heads of state. The security architecture of a nation suffers when we see such heavy devotion of security to one young individual.”
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