By Omoniyi David
Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka on Monday criticised President Bola Tinubu’s decision to deploy Nigerian troops to Benin Republic following a recent attempted coup.
Speaking at the 20th Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism Awards in Lagos, Soyinka argued that the military response was excessive and unnecessary.
He suggested that Tinubu had sufficient security resources at home to handle the situation.
“I saw a whole battalion of heavily armed personnel around Seyi Tinubu in Lagos,” Soyinka recounted. “That force alone could have dealt with the insurrection. There was no need to mobilise the Air Force or troops across the border.”
Soyinka maintained that the President could have relied on his immediate security circle rather than sending military assets abroad, describing the deployment as disproportionate to the threat.
His comments come amid growing concerns in West Africa over tensions between civilian authorities and military establishments, following a series of attempted coups in the region.
