In brief
Wole Soyinka, a Nigerian Nobel Prize-winning author, revealed that the US has revoked his visa, prompting him to label the notice as a peculiar 'love letter' from the embassy. Soyinka has a history of critique against the US government, especially during Trump's administration, and highlighted that changes in US immigration policy might be a factor in his visa revocation. He humorously noted the dissolution of his green card, which he had previously torn up in protest against Trump, and stated he's officially banned from entering the country.
Wole Soyinka, the famed Nigerian Nobel laureate and author, has disclosed that the United States revoked his visa, effectively banning him from the country. The 91-year-old literary figure, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986, shared the news during a recent press conference, noting that the US consulate requested him to bring in his passport to cancel his visa due to unspecified new information.Referring to the revocation as a rather curious love letter from an embassy, Soyinka advised organizations wishing to host him in the US to not waste their time. The US embassy in Nigeria declined to comment on the specific case.Soyinka’s visa revocation comes after he previously held permanent residency in the US, which he renounced in 2016 in a protest against Donald Trump’s election, memorably tearing up his green card in public. Jokingly, he remarked that the card had fallen between the fingers of a pair of scissors and got cut into a couple of pieces.Throughout the past three decades, Soyinka has held numerous teaching positions at various US universities. He declared, I have no visa. I am banned, expressing concern that his critical stance against Trump's administration, including a recent comparison of Trump to Uganda’s notorious dictator Idi Amin, may have led to the revocation. In his words, When I called Donald Trump Idi Amin, I thought I was paying him a compliment; he’s been behaving like a dictator.In light of the recent US immigration policy shifts, which have made significant changes to visa regulations for citizens from several African nations, Soyinka’s situation highlights broader discussions around immigration rights and political expression. The US State Department recently announced that non-immigrant visas for applicants from Nigeria and several other African countries would now be single-entry, valid for only three months, reversing the previous up to five-year visas.When asked about returning to the US, Soyinka humorously questioned, How old am I? showcasing both his defiance and resignation regarding the matter.
