Nobel laureate Professor Wole Soyinka has announced that the United States of America has revoked his non-immigrant visa, effectively barring him from travelling to the country.
Soyinka, a globally acclaimed playwright and human rights advocate, said the action did not come as a surprise, noting that his long history of outspokenness on global politics and leadership often “comes at a price.”
According to him, his criticism of world leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, was never personal but stemmed from a duty to challenge oppression, racism, and corruption wherever they exist.
He made the disclosure during a media parley themed “Unending Saga: Idi Amin in Whiteface!” held at Kongi’s Harvest Gallery, Freedom Park, Lagos Island.
“I’m still looking into my past history… I don’t have any criminal record or even a felony or misdemeanour to qualify for the revocation. I’ve started looking back, have I ever misbehaved toward the United States of America? Do I have a history? Have I been convicted? Have I gone against the law anywhere?” he queried.
The development became public at the same media parley, where the 1986 Nobel Prize winner read aloud a letter of revocation sent by the U.S. Consulate.
Dated October 23, 2025, the document stated that Soyinka’s B1/B2 visa, issued in April 2024, was being withdrawn “pursuant to Department of State Regulations 22 CFR 41.122” after “additional information became available.”
Reacting to the revocation, Soyinka maintained a calm tone, insisting that the decision would not alter his stance or principles.
“I have no resentment whatsoever,” he said. “My door remains open to any American who comes in good faith. I speak truth to power, it is what I’ve always done.”
This is not the first time Soyinka’s relationship with the United States has drawn global attention.
In 2016, following Donald Trump’s election victory, he famously destroyed his U.S. Green Card in protest, declaring that he could not, in good conscience, live in a country that, in his words, “chose to embrace bigotry and division.”
Despite the latest development, the literary icon reaffirmed his continued commitment to global activism, stressing that “no visa can silence conviction.”
