Wole Soyinka Lampoons President Tinubu Over Son's Protect By "Battalion" Of Soldiers
Nobel Laurette, Professor Wole Soyinka has lampooned President Bola Tinubu for allegedly deploying a "battalion of soldiers to guide his son, Seyi, noting that the large number of soldiers were enough to quell insurrection in small countries like Benin Republic.
Nobel Laurette, Professor Wole Soyinka has lampooned President Bola Tinubu for allegedly deploying a "battalion of soldiers to guide his son, Seyi, noting that the large number of soldiers were enough to quell insurrection in small countries like Benin Republic.
His words, "I tell you what happened in one my visits about two months ago. I was coming out of my hotel and saw what looked like a film set and said, oh they are shooting a film, and the young man detached himself from the actors and came over and greeted me politely and I said are you shooting a film.
"He said no. I looked around it was also a whole battalion occupying that ground of that hotel in Ikoyi. When I got back to the car and asked the driver, who that young man was and the driver told me it was the President Tinubu’s son,Seyi.
"I counted about 15 or so heavily armed to the teeth” security officials who accompanied the president’s son at that Ikoyi, Lagos.
"The security personnel were enough to take over a small country like Benin Republic, Tinubu should have just called on Seyi to go and quell that insurrection instead of sending Air force and Military to that country.
"Nigeria is not the first to have a head of state who has a family. We should not overdo things.
"I was so astonished that I started looking for the national security adviser. I said track him down for me. I think they got him somewhere in Paris. But he was with the president; he was in a meeting.
"Then, I said I’ve just seen something I can’t believe I don’t understand and I described the scene to him I said do you mean that a child of the head of state goes around with an army for his protection or whatever.
I couldn’t believe it. Later on, I did some investigative journalism, and I found that apparently this is how this young man goes around with his battalion, his heavy armed soldiers,
"I was astonished, children must understand their place. They are not elected leaders, and they must not inherit the architecture of state power simply by proximity.
"President Tinubu should reconsider the scale of security personnel attached to Seyi, such resources are urgently needed elsewhere.
"If a major insurgency were to break out, perhaps the President should ask Seyi to go and handle it, given the size of his escort — but beyond the humour lies a serious matter of priority and fairness.
Concentrating a battalion of operatives around one individual is inconsistent with a nation battling kidnappings, rural attacks, insurgency and criminal violence. Security deployments must reflect national realities, not privilege."
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