Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka has revealed that the United States government has revoked his visa.
Soyinka made the disclosure on Tuesday during a media parley at Freedom Park, Lagos, where he read aloud the letter of revocation sent by the U.S. Consulate on October 23.
He said the move appeared to be a witch-hunt following his long-standing criticism of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies.
Part of the letter read: “Dear Mr Soyinka, this letter serves as official notification of the United States Consulate that the non-immigrant visa listed below has been revoked in pursuant to the Department of State Regulations 22 CFR 41.122 and is no longer valid for application into the United States. Additional information became available after the below visa was issued. This revocation refers only to the visa listed below.”
The document listed his details as: “Name of visa holder: Soyinka Wole; Date and place of birth: 13-JUL-1934, NIGERIA; Visa classification: B1/B2; Date and place of visa issuance: 02-APR-2024, Lagos.”
The playwright said the action followed his refusal to attend a reinterview requested by the consulate.
Despite the development, Soyinka said he would not retaliate. “I will continue to welcome any American to my home if they have anything legitimate to do with me,” he added.
The 91-year-old recalled that he tore his American green card shortly after Trump’s emergence in his first term, describing it as a protest against what he called divisive leadership.
He also shared two earlier encounters with U.S. authorities which he described as harmless misunderstandings, one involving a $25 fine for undeclared chilli peppers, and another in the 1970s at Chicago Airport, where he challenged a racist immigration officer before Chief Emeka Anyaoku intervened.
“I do not think those two incidents are enough to classify me as having a criminal record in the United States,” he said.
