Nobel Laureate and world-renowned playwright, Professor Wole Soyinka, has reacted to the permanent revocation of his United States visa by American authorities, describing the decision as unnecessary and unexpected.
Speaking during a media parley at Freedom Park, Lagos, on Tuesday, Soyinka explained that the revocation followed his refusal to attend a visa revalidation interview requested by the U.S. Consulate.
The literary legend disclosed that he had torn his American green card shortly after former U.S. President Donald Trump assumed office, calling it a personal protest against what he saw as divisive and discriminatory leadership.
Since then, he had been traveling to the U.S. using a B1/B2 visa. However, on October 23, 2025, he received a letter from the U.S. Consulate asking him to appear in person for his visa to be officially stamped as “cancelled permanently.”
Soyinka said he refused to honor the invitation, insisting:
“If they wish to cancel it, that is their business. I will not go there to help them do it.”
Despite the revocation, the literary icon maintained that the move would not affect his relations with Americans.
“I will continue to welcome any American to my home if they have anything legitimate to do with me,” he said.
The 1986 Nobel Prize winner also shared two past incidents with U.S. authorities, which he described as minor misunderstandings rather than criminal issues.
The first, he said, happened years ago at an American airport when he was fined $25 for forgetting to declare chilli peppers he carried from London.
“It was a harmless mistake. The officials were just doing their job,” Soyinka laughed.
The second occurred in the 1970s at Chicago Airport, when he confronted an immigration officer over a racist remark. The issue attracted police attention but was later settled through the intervention of the late Chief Emeka Anyaoku, then Secretary-General of the Commonwealth.
Soyinka said these two encounters should not have led to such drastic action as a visa revocation.
“I do not think those two incidents are enough to classify me as having a criminal record in the United States. They were simply misunderstandings that could happen to anyone.”
He added that his relationship with the U.S. had been cordial for decades until the political climate under Trump’s administration strained global values of tolerance and inclusion.
Soyinka concluded by urging people everywhere to speak out against injustice:
“Silence in the face of prejudice is as dangerous as the act itself.”
