Nobel Laureate Soyinka slams excessive security for President Tinubu's son as "poor reflection" on Nigeria

Nobel laureate Professor Wole Soyinka has criticized the overwhelming security detail deployed for Seyi Tinubu, son of President Bola Tinubu, calling it a misplacement of national priorities.

Speaking at an awards ceremony in Lagos, Soyinka recounted a recent encounter where he mistook the security entourage for a film set. He described seeing a “near battalion” and roughly 15 heavily armed personnel from units like SWAT, a force he remarked “looked sufficient to take over a small country.”

Soyinka emphasized that while protecting a president’s family is standard, the scale he witnessed constituted an abuse of privilege.

He was so alarmed that he personally contacted National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu to verify the deployment was authorized, describing the scene to him as something he “couldn’t believe” or “understand.”

The renowned playwright stated that such excessive protection reflects poorly on Nigeria’s broader security strategy and its allocation of resources.

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled: Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

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