Soyinka Slams Heavy Security Around Tinubu’s Son, Warns It Undermines Nigeria’s National Security

Nobel laureate Professor Wole Soyinka has raised concerns over what he described as the excessive deployment of security personnel around President Bola Tinubu’s family, warning that such overreach distorts Nigeria’s national security priorities.

Speaking at the 20th Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) Awards in Lagos on Tuesday, the literary icon recounted a recent encounter with a “battalion-level” security detail escorting Tinubu’s son at a hotel in Ikoyi.

“I was coming out of my hotel and saw what looked like a film set. A young man detached himself from the actors and greeted me. When I asked if they were shooting a film, he said no. Nearly a whole battalion occupied the hotel grounds,” Soyinka said.

According to him, about 15 heavily armed officers formed the president’s son’s security cordon—“sufficient to take over a neighbouring small country or city like Benin,” he added. Concerned, Soyinka attempted to contact the National Security Adviser to verify the deployment.

Soyinka also criticised the potential distortion of security structures caused by such excessive protection, arguing that it undermines the proper allocation of state resources. “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,” he said.

With his trademark wit, Soyinka suggested that the formidable security force could handle uprisings without the need for military intervention. “Next time there’s an uprising, the president should call that young man and say, ‘Seyi, go and put down those stupid people there. You have troops under your command,’” he quipped.

His remarks add to an ongoing debate about the visibility and scale of state-provided security for politically connected individuals, especially amid heightened security challenges across Nigeria.