Soyinka decries Seyi Tinubu’s ‘excessive’ security escort
Nobel laureate Professor Wole Soyinka has criticised what he described as an excessive display of state security around Seyi Tinubu, son of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, urging the Presidency to rethink how national security resources are being deployed.
Soyinka made the remarks at the 20th Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism Awards held in Lagos on Tuesday. His comments, captured in a now-viral 4-minute, 25-second video shared by #Nigeriastories on X, detailed an encounter that left him stunned at what he called a “wasteful and disproportionate” deployment of security personnel.
According to him, the incident occurred recently at his hotel in Ikoyi, Lagos, where he witnessed an “enormous battalion” of armed escorts accompanying a young man “close to the Presidency”—protection he said was “enough to take over a small country.” He later learned the individual was Seyi Tinubu.
Shocked by the sight, Soyinka said he immediately attempted to reach National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu.
“I said I’ve just seen something I can’t believe. Do you mean that the child of a head of state goes around with an army for his protection? I couldn’t believe it,” he said.
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Soyinka added that further inquiries revealed this was Seyi Tinubu’s routine escort arrangement — a revelation that prompted him to stress the need for boundaries.
“Children must understand their place. They are not elected leaders and must not inherit the architecture of state power simply by proximity,” he said.
He called on President Tinubu to review what he described as a misallocation of critical security resources, especially at a time Nigeria faces widespread banditry, kidnapping, insurgency and violent crime. He joked that if an insurgency were to break out, the President might as well ask Seyi to “go and handle it” given the size of his security detail — but warned that behind the humour lies a serious concern about fairness and national priorities.
Speaking further, Soyinka praised journalists for their resilience and urged stronger editorial responsibility amid rising misinformation, warning that misuse of social media could spark major conflict if left unchecked.
The viral video, which had garnered over 27,000 views and hundreds of reposts as of Tuesday night, also captured Soyinka’s views on Nigeria’s involvement in the recently foiled coup attempt in the Republic of Benin. He criticised the intervention as “an unnecessary military entanglement,” insisting that Nigeria should prioritise strengthening democratic institutions rather than defaulting to military action.
“What happens in Benin inevitably affects us. Instability anywhere in the region echoes across our own sense of security,” he noted.
Soyinka also addressed the wave of demolitions across Lagos, lamenting the human cost and urging authorities to prioritise dignity and humane evacuation processes. He said he had personally received images and testimonies from victims.
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The Presidency has yet to issue any official statement regarding Soyinka’s remarks, and there is no confirmation from government officials that the convoy mentioned indeed belonged to Seyi Tinubu.
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