A viral video showing Seyi, President Bola Tinubu’s son, receiving what appears to be a military parade has stirred controversial debates on social media.
On December 22nd, Mahdi Shehu, a public affairs and political commentator, posted the nearly four-minute video with an accompanying caption condemning the reception.
“It is only in Nigeria that a non- commissioned Bloody civilian will be accorded full military honor simply because his father happens to be called Preaident by coincidence,” Shehu tweeted.
The tweet has gathered over 106k views, 880 likes, 575 retweets, 262 comments, and 150 bookmarks.
On Sunday, Atiku Abubakar, a former vice-president, criticised the full “military parade”.
In a statement issued by his media office, Abubakar demanded an investigation into the incident, saying it was a gross violation of military tradition.
WHAT CONNOTES FULL MILITARY HONOUR?
Military honours are ceremonies performed by soldiers as a mark of respect for VIPs or to honour someone important who is dead.
Military parades and guard of honour parades serve distinct ceremonial purposes, although they may share some similarities in terms of military tradition and display.
A military parade, according to the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), is a formation of soldiers that typically involves marching and drilling to showcase military strength, discipline, and readiness.
A guard of honour is a group of people appointed to perform ceremonial duties such as receiving dignitaries, guarding important sites, or participating in state functions.
Guards of honour are usually composed of specially trained personnel who perform precise movements and rituals to honor the individuals or events they are associated with.
VERIFYING THE CLAIM
The group which received the president’s son in the viral video was the CADETN (Community Auxiliary Development for Effective Transformation Network), a youth uniformed volunteer organisation.
Amid the controversies online, J.G Fatoye, the group’s corps commander, issued a statement on Monday clarifying that Seyi received a guard of honour and not a military honour.
“As a youth uniformed volunteer organization, we want to set the record straight and clear misconceptions about the guard of Honour. It is of note that the guard of Honour was used to welcome dignitaries to the event as it is a youth empowerment program and the organization is a youth organization,” the statement reads.
Fatoye added that the reception was not exclusive to Seyi.
“The guard also honoured other dignitaries like the PA to the President on Special Duties as the program played host to many dignitaries like the Minister of Youth Development, Minister of Digital Economy, SSA to the President on Citizenship & Leadership, SSA to the President on Digital Comm & New Media, CoS to Ogun State Governor and so many other dignitaries that graced the occasion,” he said.
“The CADETN is a youth uniformed organization and not a military outfit and also not in anyway affiliated to the military or Armed Forces as been claimed by some mischief makers.
“The organization is a voluntary organization that operates like the likes of Man O War, Peace Corps, Royal Ambassador, Man of Order, WAI Brigade and other relevant uniformed voluntary organizations.”
Fatoye clarified that no military paraphernalia was used for the procession, noting that the rifles used were dummies.
The corps commander urged the public not to spread unfounded accusations.
VERDICT
Seyi Tinubu did not receive a military honour as claimed.
