Wole Soyinka breaks silence after U.S. completely revokes his visa
Nobel Laureate and celebrated playwright Professor Wole Soyinka has responded to the everlasting revocation of his U.S. visa, describing the motion as each pointless and shocking.
Throughout a media session at Freedom Park, Lagos, on Tuesday, Soyinka revealed that the revocation got here after he declined to attend a visa revalidation interview requested by the U.S. Consulate.
The literary icon defined that he destroyed his American inexperienced card years in the past, shortly after Donald Trump grew to become U.S. president — a symbolic protest in opposition to what he thought-about divisive and discriminatory insurance policies. Since then, Soyinka had relied on a B1/B2 customer visa to journey to the USA.
Based on him, on October 23, 2025, the U.S. Consulate despatched a letter requesting his bodily presence so his visa may very well be formally stamped as “cancelled completely.” Soyinka, nevertheless, refused to conform, stating:
“In the event that they want to cancel it, that’s their enterprise. I can’t go there to assist them do it.”
‘I’ll Nonetheless Welcome Individuals’
Regardless of the event, Soyinka insisted that it could not have an effect on his private or skilled relationships with Individuals.
“I’ll proceed to welcome any American to my residence if they’ve something professional to do with me,” he mentioned.
Previous Encounters with U.S. Authorities
Recounting earlier experiences, Soyinka talked about two minor incidents with U.S. officers — one involving undeclared chili peppers from the U.Okay., which earned him a $25 positive, and one other confrontation within the Seventies at Chicago Airport after a racist remark from an immigration officer. The latter was resolved peacefully by means of the intervention of the late Chief Emeka Anyaoku, then Commonwealth Secretary-Common.
“These incidents had been innocent misunderstandings, not crimes,” Soyinka defined. “They definitely don’t justify treating me like a felony.”
‘Silence within the Face of Prejudice is Harmful’
Reflecting on his long-standing ties with the U.S., Soyinka famous that his relationship with the nation had been cordial till political tensions below Trump’s presidency altered the ambiance.
He concluded by urging individuals to communicate out in opposition to discrimination and injustice, warning:
“Silence within the face of prejudice is as harmful because the act itself.”