Encounter with Naval Officer: How Wike’s security aides failed him

Those security personnel who escorted Wike to that place of ignominy failed the most elementary rule of their training: in the face of a provoked atmosphere, your first duty is to tactically shield your principal and get him to safety. Instead, they stood there like zombies—frozen, waiting for the worst to happen.

Highly trained bodyguards would have cordoned off the area, placed their boss in the middle, and walked him away from the needless altercation that could easily have escalated into a deadly skirmish.

Policing goes beyond blaring sirens, following VIPs, and wearing starched khaki while wielding AK rifles—it is about tact, wit, and intelligence.

I remember sometime around 2010, when I served as an aide to the late Minister of Health, Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin. An incident occurred that deepened my respect for the dexterity of the DSS. The minister’s vehicle had knocked down an okada rider somewhere around Lere in Kaduna State, and in an instant, passersby rushed out in fury, tempers flaring.

Shola Aguda, the Chief Detail to the minister, did the unthinkable. He used the driver as a decoy, making the minister take the driver’s seat. In that heated confusion, the minister slipped out through the driver’s door and melted into the angry crowd.

In one swift, decisive moment, the DSS officer had saved his boss’s life—without firing a shot.

When we eventually regrouped at the office, we asked how he managed it. His response was simple yet profound: “My first responsibility is to protect my principal from harm or embarrassment.”

That’s precisely what Wike’s security detail failed to do today. They stood morose, watching their boss walk into self-inflicted humiliation. As aides to politically exposed persons (PEPs), there is a limit to how your principal should conduct himself in public—and it’s your duty to ensure he stays within that limit.

Tragically, many of today’s aides are the “Yes, sir” type—those who never see, let alone correct, their boss’s missteps. Just like the policeman seen on video exchanging words with a naval officer, they fail to grasp the golden rule: you don’t escalate a situation when a politically exposed person is involved—you de-escalate it, and ferry your boss first to safety.

The police need that training that comes with emotional intelligence very urgent. (By Haruspice via Zagazola)