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The Digest:

Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka has voiced alarm over the military-scale security detail guarding Seyi Tinubu, son of President Bola Tinubu, saying the contingent is large enough to suppress an insurrection and reflects a dangerous misplacement of national security resources. In a viral video, Soyinka recounted mistaking the armed entourage at an Ikoyi hotel for a film set, only to learn it was the president’s son moving under heavy guard.

Key Points:
  • Soyinka described encountering a “small battalion” of armed personnel with Seyi Tinubu in Lagos
  • He initially thought a movie was being filmed due to the scale of the security presence
  • The playwright said he was so disturbed that he tried to contact the National Security Adviser
  • Soyinka stressed that “children should know their place” and not be treated as heads of state
  • He sarcastically suggested the president could send his son’s detail to quell future unrest
  • The remarks highlight tensions over VIP security amid widespread national insecurity
  • Soyinka warned that such deployments weaken Nigeria’s overall security architecture
When protection becomes performance, it exposes a painful disconnect between privilege and public need. Soyinka’s sharp critique underscores a national tension: in a country grappling with widespread insecurity, the spectacle of armed escorts for a president’s son feels less like safety and more like a satire of a broken system.

Sources: The Cable, Premium Times

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