Nobel Laureate and celebrated writer, Professor Wole Soyinka, has revealed that the United States government has permanently revoked his visa. Speaking on Tuesday during a media parley at Freedom Park, Lagos, Soyinka said the action followed his refusal to attend a reinterview requested by the U.S. Consulate.
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The literary icon explained that the consulate had asked him to appear for a visa revalidation interview, which he chose to ignore. On October 23, 2025, he received another letter informing him that his visa would be officially stamped as “cancelled permanently.” Soyinka said he would not comply with the instruction, describing it as unnecessary.
“If they wish to cancel it, that is their business,” he remarked. “I will not go there to help them do it.”
Soyinka added that he would not retaliate against the decision, emphasizing his continued openness toward Americans. “I will continue to welcome any American to my home if they have anything legitimate to do with me,” he said.
The Nobel Laureate recalled that he tore up his American green card shortly after Donald Trump became president, describing it as a symbolic protest against divisive and discriminatory leadership. Since then, he had been traveling to the U.S. with a B1/B2 visa.
Reflecting on his past encounters with American authorities, Soyinka shared two incidents he described as “minor misunderstandings.” The first occurred years ago when airport officials fined him $25 for carrying chili peppers into the U.S. without declaring them. “It was a harmless mistake,” he said, laughing. “I simply forgot to declare the chili I had carried from London.”
The second incident took place in the 1970s at Chicago Airport, where Soyinka confronted an immigration officer over a racist remark. The altercation drew police attention but was later resolved with the intervention of the late Chief Emeka Anyaoku, who would go on to become Secretary-General of the Commonwealth.
“I do not think those two incidents are enough to classify me as having a criminal record in the United States,” Soyinka noted. “They were simply misunderstandings that could happen to anyone.”
He emphasized that apart from those moments, he had long maintained cordial relations with the U.S. until the political climate shifted under Trump’s administration. Closing his remarks, Soyinka urged people everywhere to take a stand against discrimination and injustice.
“Silence in the face of prejudice,” he warned, “is as dangerous as the act itself.”
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