Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka has disclosed that the United States government has permanently revoked his visa.
The literary icon made the revelation on Tuesday during a media parley at Freedom Park, Lagos, where he read aloud the official revocation letter sent by the U.S. Consulate on October 23, 2025.
According to Soyinka, the decision appeared to be a witch-hunt linked to his long-standing criticism of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies.
Part of the letter from the Consulate 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this letter serves as official notification of the United States Consulate that the non-immigrant visa listed below has been revoked in pursuant to the Department of State Regulations 22 CFR 41.122 and is no longer valid for application into the United States.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 follows:
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
Soyinka explained that the revocation came after he refused to attend a reinterview requested by the consulate.
Despite the development, the 91-year-old playwright said he bore no ill will towards the United States.
“I will continue to welcome any American to my home if they have anything legitimate to do with me,” he said.
Soyinka recalled that he tore his American green card shortly after Donald Trump assumed office, describing it as an act of protest against what he called divisive leadership.
He also recounted two past encounters with U.S. authorities, which he described as harmless misunderstandings — one involving a $25 fine for failing to declare chilli peppers, and another in the 1970s at Chicago Airport, where he clashed with a racist immigration officer before former Commonwealth Secretary-General 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 added.
