SOYINKA FAULTS TOO MANY CONVOY FOLLOWING SEYI TINUBU
Read Time:2 Minute, 34 Second
BY ALICE IDOWU
Professor Wole Soyinka told President Bola Tinubu he needs to be careful with how he handles regional security, managing the country, and using government protection for people who are already in a good position.
He made this comment during the 20th Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism Awards in Lagos on Tuesday.
A video of his remarks, which is now widely shared online, was posted on Tuesday night by #Nigeriastories on X.
Soyinka talked about a recent experience he had in his hotel room in Ikoyi, Lagos State.
He was surprised and upset by what he saw as a very expensive and unnecessary use of state security.
He described seeing “an excessively large security battalion assigned to a young individual close to the Presidency,” an entourage he said was “sufficient to take over a small country.”
Soyinka revealed that the young man turned out to be Seyi Tinubu, the President’s son.
Soyinka on Tinubu’s son
He said the discovery concerned him enough to contact National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu.
“I was so astonished that I started looking for the national security adviser. I said track him down for me. I think they got him somewhere in Paris. But he was with the president; he was in a meeting.
“Then, I said I’ve just seen something I can’t believe I don’t understand and I described the scene to him I said 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. Later on, I did some investigative journalism, and I found that apparently this is how this young man goes around with his battalion, his heavy armed soldiers,” he said.
“I was astonished,” Soyinka said, adding that “children must understand their place. They are not elected leaders, and they must not inherit the architecture of state power simply by proximity.”
At the same event, which was held to honor veteran poet Odia Ofeimum and others, Soyinka made another comment. He encouraged Tinubu to think again about how many security people are protecting Seyi, saying that these resources are really needed in other areas.
Soyinka joked that if there was a big uprising, maybe the President should ask Seyi to deal with it, because of the large team following him.
But he also said that behind the joke is a serious issue about priorities and fairness.
He warned that putting a whole group of security people around one person doesn’t make sense for a country dealing with kidnappings, attacks in rural areas, insurgency, and crime.
He said security forces should be used based on what’s happening in the country, not just for special treatment.
Turning to the media, Soyinka praised journalists for resilience but urged stronger editorial discipline in an era of escalating misinformation.
He cautioned that “the next great conflict may well be triggered by the misuse of social platforms,” calling for renewed commitment to truth and verification, and describing credible journalism as one of Nigeria’s strongest defences against chaos.
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