Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka has said President Bola Tinubu could have sent his son, Seyi Tinubu, to stop the recent coup attempt in Benin Republic after seeing the unusually large number of security officers assigned to him.
The veteran poet said this during the Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting in Lagos last night.
He described an experience where after arriving at a hotel in Ikoyi and finding what he thought was a film set because of the number of armed personnel gathered there.
He said the illusion was broken only when a young man stepped out of the cluster of operatives to greet him politely.
“A young man came over and greeted me, very polite, very nice. That was when I asked if they were shooting a film, and he said no,” Soyinka recounted.
Soyinka said he later discovered the security convoy belonged entirely to Seyi Tinubu, a revelation that shocked him.
“I was told this is how the young man moves around. I couldn’t believe that a child of the head of state goes around with an army for his protection.”
The encounter, he said, prompted him to make a report to the National Security Adviser. He criticised the scale of protection, saying it reflects poorly on national priorities.
“I said, track him down for me. I described the scene and asked if this is normal. Children should know their place. They are not heads of state. The security architecture of a nation suffers when we see such devotion of troops to one young individual.”
Soyinka then took a swipe at the situation, remarking that with such a large escort, Seyi could be useful in quelling unrest.
“The next time there is an insurrection, the president should just call that young man. He has enough troops under his command,” he said.
