Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka has sharply criticised the heavy security presence surrounding Seyi Tinubu, the son of President Bola Tinubu, after witnessing what he described as an excessive armed escort in Lagos. Speaking on Tuesday in Ikoyi, Soyinka questioned why a private citizen should move with what appeared to be a troop-sized security detail.
The incident unfolded at a Lagos hotel during a ceremony where Soyinka presented an honorary award to poet and activist Odia Ofeimun, organised by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism. According to the literary icon, the scene he encountered left him stunned and deeply concerned.
Soyinka said he counted “about 15 or so” armed personnel, fully kitted, escorting the president’s son. At first, he thought the gathering was part of a movie shoot. The reality only became clear when a young man stepped forward to greet him. Soyinka later learned from his driver that the individual was Seyi Tinubu.
The scale of the security detail alarmed him enough to contact National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu. Soyinka said he questioned whether it was appropriate for the child of a sitting president to move around with what looked like a small battalion.
He later followed up on what he saw, describing it as a pattern rather than a one-off occurrence. In his words, the president’s son appeared to travel regularly with heavily armed protection. Soyinka warned against what he called an unnecessary show of force, urging restraint in the deployment of state security resources.
Using biting satire, Soyinka linked the episode to recent regional events. He joked that instead of deploying Nigerian soldiers and air force personnel to Benin Republic to counter a failed coup attempt, the president could simply have sent his son with his security entourage. The remark drew laughter but carried a pointed message about priorities and optics.
Beyond humour, Soyinka raised serious concerns about the broader implications. He argued that assigning such a large contingent to protect a private individual risks weakening national security, especially at a time when the country is grappling with widespread insecurity.
He stressed that Nigeria is not unique in having a head of state and that presidential families should operate within clear limits. According to him, proximity to power should not translate into unchecked authority or excessive protection. He summed it up bluntly by saying presidential children “are not potentates.”
The comments come against the backdrop of recent federal directives aimed at reducing the misuse of security personnel. Only weeks ago, President Tinubu ordered the withdrawal of police officers attached to VIPs nationwide. The instruction was for officers to return to frontline duties and focus on protecting the general public.
That directive followed a high-level security meeting in Abuja involving police leadership, military chiefs, and the head of the State Security Service. Under the new arrangement, VIPs seeking armed protection are required to apply through the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
Nigeria’s security forces are already under immense strain from kidnappings, insurgency, and violent crime across multiple regions. Soyinka’s criticism taps into a growing public debate about privilege, power, and the fair use of state resources.
As discussions continue, his remarks have reignited scrutiny over who gets protected, how, and at what cost to a nation struggling to keep its citizens safe.
