Soyinka slams heavy security escort for Seyi Tinubu

Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, on Tuesday raised serious concerns over what he described as an alarming and unnecessary display of armed security personnel attached to Seyi Tinubu, son of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Speaking at the 20th Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) Awards in Lagos, the globally acclaimed playwright said the sheer number of heavily armed operatives accompanying the president’s son sends the wrong message about Nigeria’s priorities, especially at a time when insecurity continues to weigh heavily on citizens across the country.

Soyinka, who narrated his encounter at an Ikoyi hotel, said he initially mistook the scene for a movie production because of the massive tactical presence on the premises.

According to him, he saw “nearly a battalion”—about 15 heavily armed officers—spread across the grounds, prompting him to inquire who was being protected with such intensity. It was only after a polite exchange with a young man he met—who turned out to be Seyi Tinubu—that he realised the elaborate display was not a film set but a security escort.

The Nobel Laureate expressed deep worry over what he described as the misuse of state power and resources, stressing that while it is normal for presidents globally to have families, such privileges must not be abused or turned into extravagant security parades.

He stated that the spectacle he witnessed was enough “to take over a small neighbouring country,” questioning why such an overwhelming force would be deployed around the president’s son.

Soyinka disclosed that the incident shocked him to the point that he immediately placed a call to the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, seeking clarification on whether the deployment was official or justifiable.

Although Ribadu was reportedly in a meeting with the president at the time, Soyinka insisted on delivering his concerns, saying the experience left him deeply unsettled about Nigeria’s security architecture and governance culture.

His remarks have renewed public conversations about elitism, state resources, and the widening gap between government officials and ordinary Nigerians who continue to contend with banditry, kidnapping, and general insecurity without adequate protection.