By Ogunbayi Beedee Adeyemi October 28, 2025
adeyemi@ddnewsonline.com
In a stunning development that has ignited global outcry, the United States government has permanently revoked the visa of Nigeria’s Nobel Prize-winning author and playwright, Professor Wole Soyinka, effectively barring the 91-year-old literary icon from entering the country.
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Soyinka, Africa’s first Nobel Laureate in Literature (1986), disclosed the revocation during a media parley at Kongi’s Harvest Gallery, Freedom Park, Lagos Island, on Tuesday. Reading aloud from an official letter dated October 23, 2025, from the U.S. Consulate in Lagos, he confirmed that his B1/B2 non-immigrant visa issued on April 2, 2024, for business and tourism had been canceled without prior notice or stated reason.
“I have no visa; I am banned, obviously, from the United States. And if you want to see me, you know where to find me,” Soyinka declared, drawing a mix of laughter and somber nods from journalists and dignitaries. The event, themed “Unending Saga: Idi Amin In Whiteface!”, appeared to underscore his pointed critique of authoritarian tendencies, which many now link to the visa decision.
The revocation revives memories of Soyinka’s dramatic 2016 protest following Donald Trump’s first presidential victory. Vowing to “cut up” his U.S. green card if Trump won, Soyinka followed through in December that year, publicly tearing the document in a symbolic rejection of what he called “divisive and discriminatory leadership.” He had lived in the U.S. for extended periods, teaching at institutions like Harvard, Yale, and Cornell, forging deep ties to American academia and civil rights movements.
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Speculation abounds that the ban stems from Soyinka’s unyielding criticism of Trump’s policies on immigration, racism, and global authoritarianism. In recent interviews, the professor has likened Trump’s rhetoric to historical tyrants, including Uganda’s Idi Amin a theme central to Tuesday’s parley. “This seems like a witch-hunt because of my stance against the policies of US President Donald Trump,” Soyinka remarked, expressing bewilderment over the timing, just months after his visa renewal.
The official letter, which Soyinka brandished for cameras, cited vague “additional information” post-issuance as grounds for revocation under Section 205 of the Immigration and Nationality Act a clause often invoked for security or policy concerns without elaboration. Soyinka, who declined a sudden U.S. Consulate request for a visa reassessment the day after receiving the notice, described the summons as “suspicious” and refused to comply, accelerating the permanent cancellation.
Puzzled by the move, Soyinka reflected on his unblemished U.S. record: “I’m still looking into my past history… I don’t have any past criminal record or even a felony or misdemeanour to qualify for the revocation. Have I ever misbehaved toward the United States? Do I have a history?” He emphasized his role as a “global citizen,” vowing to persist in challenging injustice. “I will continue to speak against racism and what I consider wrong with the policies of governments, including that of Donald Trump,” he affirmed, adding with characteristic wit, “I will continue to welcome any American to my home if they have anything legitimate to do with me. No hard feelings.”
The decision arrives amid the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown in its second term, including expanded travel bans and heightened scrutiny of critics. Soyinka’s expulsion draws parallels to other high-profile revocations, such as those of journalists and activists deemed “adversarial” to U.S. interests.
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News of the ban spread like wildfire, trending worldwide under #SoyinkaBanned and #ResistTrump on X (formerly Twitter). Fellow Nobel laureates, including South Africa’s Nadine Gordimer’s estate and Peru’s Mario Vargas Llosa, issued joint statements decrying it as an “assault on free expression.” UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion, Irene Khan, called it “a chilling message to intellectuals everywhere,” urging the U.S. to reverse course.
In Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu’s administration expressed “profound dismay,” with Information Minister Mohammed Idris labeling it “an affront to Africa’s intellectual heritage.” Literary figures like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie tweeted: “Wole Soyinka’s voice cannot be silenced by bureaucracy. The world is watching.” Even U.S.-based Nigerian diaspora groups rallied, organizing virtual vigils and petitions to the State Department.
Critics of Soyinka, however, pointed to his past provocations, with one X user quipping: “Amnesia much? He forgot vowing to destroy his car and boycott the US if Trump won.” Yet, supporters flooded social media with clips of his iconic works, from Death and the King’s Horseman to anti-apartheid activism, framing the ban as petty retribution.
As of Tuesday evening, the U.S. Embassy in Abuja had not commented, citing visa matters as confidential. Soyinka, undeterred, joked about redirecting his energies to Nigerian academia and his Abeokuta residence, Pyrate’s Cove. “Exile is an old friend,” he quipped, referencing his Biafran War banishment.
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This incident not only severs Soyinka’s access to U.S. lecture circuits and collaborations but symbolizes a broader clash between artistic dissent and state power. In a divided world, the Nobel winner’s ban serves as a stark reminder: words, once wielded boldly, can indeed forge chains.
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