Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has revealed that his American visa has been revoked permanently by the United States government.
Bellnews reports that Soyinka, who disclosed this during a media parley in Lagos on Tuesday, said he received the revocation letter from the US Consulate on Thursday, October 23, 2025.
Reading the letter aloud at the event themed “Unending Saga: Idi Amin In Whiteface!” held at the Freedom Park, Lagos, Soyinka suggested that the decision appeared to be linked to his long-standing criticism of the policies of US President, Donald Trump.
The letter from the US Consulate, which he read publicly, partly stated, “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this letter serves as official notification of the United States Consulate that the non-immigrant visa listed below has been revoked in pursuant to the Department of State Regulations 22 CFR 41.122 and is no longer valid for application into the United States.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.
Name of visa holder: SOYINKA, WOLE
Date and place of birth: 13-JUL-1934, NIGERIA.
Visa classification(symbol): B1/B2
Date and place of visa issuance: 02-APR-2024, Lagos.”
The playwright, who resides in Nigeria, insisted that he bore no resentment over the matter.
“I will continue to welcome any American to my home if they have anything legitimate to do with me,” he said.
Soyinka stressed that his criticism of world leaders, including Donald Trump, was rooted in his role as a global citizen committed to speaking against racism, injustice, and bad governance.
It will be recalled that in December 2016, shortly after Trump’s electoral victory, Soyinka publicly tore up his US Green Card in protest, declaring his disapproval of the new administration.