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Journalism of Courage
The United States has revoked the visa of Wole Soyinka, the Nigerian writer who in 1986 became the first African to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Speaking at an event at Kongi’s Harvest Gallery in Lagos on Tuesday, Soyinka said he received a letter from the US Consulate General in Lagos, dated October 23, requesting that he bring his passport for his visa to be “physically cancelled.” He described the correspondence as “a rather curious love letter” and added that he would not comply with the request.
“I have no visa. I am banned,” Soyinka told reporters later that day, saying he was “very content” with the revocation.
The US Embassy in Abuja told The Guardian that it could not comment on individual visa cases, citing confidentiality rules.
Both the The Guardian and Al Jazeera cited the consulate’s letter referencing State Department regulations that allow a nonimmigrant visa to be revoked “at any time, in the discretion of the consular officer.”
The 91-year-old playwright and political activist suggested that his recent remarks comparing former US president Donald Trump to Uganda’s late military ruler Idi Amin “might have struck a nerve.” With characteristic irony, he added, “Maybe it’s about time also to write a play about Donald Trump.”
Soyinka’s visa had been issued in 2024 during the Biden administration, but was revoked under Trump’s second presidency, which began in January. Since returning to office, the Trump administration has overseen a series of immigration restrictions, including visa cancellations for foreign academics, activists, and officials viewed as critical of US policy.
Earlier this year, former Costa Rican president and 1987 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Oscar Arias said his US visa had also been cancelled. In a radio interview, Arias speculated that his criticism of Trump and his diplomatic ties with China may have contributed to the decision.
In June, Trump issued a proclamation directing federal agencies to ensure that visa holders “do not bear hostile attitudes toward [the United States’] citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles.” Human rights advocates have warned that the broad language could be used to justify action against dissenting voices.
Soyinka questioned the reasoning behind the cancellations, calling them politically motivated rather than matters of national security. “Governments have a way of papering things for their own survival,” he said. “The revocation of one visa, 10 visas, a thousand visas will not affect the national interests of any astute leader.”
A poet, novelist, and essayist, Soyinka is regarded as one of Africa’s most influential literary figures. His works include The Interpreters, Season of Anomy, and Death and the King’s Horseman, which was staged this year in Sheffield, England. His 2021 novel, Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth, offers a satirical portrait of corruption and moral decay in Nigeria.
Soyinka has long divided his time between Nigeria and the US, teaching at universities such as Harvard, Yale, and Emory. In 2016, following Trump’s first election, he destroyed his US green card, saying he no longer wished to be part of the society “not even as a resident.”
He said that while the revocation might limit future visits for cultural or literary engagements, he would not seek to reverse it. “I wouldn’t take the initiative myself because there’s nothing I’m looking for there,” he said.
(With inputs from The Guardian and Aljazeera)
