THE United States has revoked the visa of Professor Wole Soyinka, Africa’s first Nobel Prize laureate in literature, effectively barring the renowned Nigerian playwright and human rights advocate from entering the country.
Soyinka, 91, disclosed the revocation at a media briefing on Wednesday at his Lagos residence, saying he received no explanation for the action that curtails privileges typically extended to Nobel laureates.
“I am banned, obviously, from the United States,” Soyinka told reporters at Kongi’s Harvest Gallery. “It is necessary for me to hold this conference so that people in the United States who are expecting me for this event or that event do not waste their time.”
The U.S. Consulate General in Lagos sent Soyinka a letter dated October 23, instructing him to surrender his passport for physical cancellation of his B1/B2 visa. The letter stated only that “additional information became available” after the visa was issued, without elaborating on the nature of that information.
The revocation follows Soyinka’s September refusal to attend a visa reinterview scheduled by the U.S. Consulate for September 11 — a date the playwright called “strange and bizarre” given its historical significance.
“At first, I thought it was advance-fee fraud because I had never received that kind of letter from any embassy,” Soyinka said. He criticised holding visa interviews on the anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks, saying the date should be observed as “a day of national mourning, of atonement.”
The consulate’s mass invitation targeted Nigerians holding B1/B2 business and tourism visas for reinterviews, part of what appeared to be a broader visa review process.
The incident occurred amid tightened U.S. visa policies toward Nigeria. In July, the U.S. Embassy announced that Nigerians seeking non-immigrant visas would receive only single-entry, three-month permits, replacing the previous multiple-entry visas valid for up to five years.
Soyinka, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986 and formerly served as Goldwin Smith Professor of African Studies and Theatre Arts at Cornell University, said he will not seek reinstatement of his visa.
“The question of going to such an interview is totally out of consideration,” he said, likening the revocation to “Idi Amin in Whiteface” — a reference to the late Ugandan dictator known for arbitrary actions against perceived opponents.
The incident marks the second time Soyinka has severed ties with U.S. immigration privileges. In 2016, he renounced his American green card in protest of Donald Trump’s election, and he has remained a vocal critic of U.S. policies across subsequent administrations.
“If individuals wish to see me, they know where to find me,” Soyinka said, reaffirming his commitment to advocating for human rights and political freedoms regardless of his visa status.
