LAGOS, Nigeria (Chatnewstv.com) — Nobel laureate Professor Wole Soyinka has announced that the United States has revoked his non-immigrant visa, immediately barring him from entering the country.
The renowned Nigerian author, poet, and playwright disclosed the development during a media parley themed “Unending Saga: Idi Amin in Whiteface!” held Wednesday at Kongi’s Harvest Gallery, Freedom Park, Lagos Island.
“I have no visa; I am banned, obviously, from the United States,” Soyinka told journalists. “And if you want to see me, you know where to find me.”
The revocation applies to his B1/B2 visa, a temporary, non-immigrant visa for business or tourism. Soyinka suggested the action might be a form of “witch-hunt” linked to his long-standing and vocal opposition to the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Soyinka read from the official notification letter, which he said he received last Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, from the NIV Section of the U.S. Consulate General in Lagos.
“This letter serves as official notification by the United States Consulate General in Lagos that the non-immigrant visa listed below has been revoked pursuant to the authority contained in US Department of State regulations,” the letter read in part, citing that “Additional information became available after the visa below was issued.”
The revoked visa details listed in the letter were:
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
Soyinka expressed confusion over the rationale for the revocation, stating he was unaware of any past actions that would warrant such a ban.
“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,” he said, querying, “Have I been convicted? Have I gone against the law anywhere?”
Despite the ban, the Nobel laureate affirmed that he holds no ill will toward the American people.
“I will continue to welcome any American to my home if they have anything legitimate to do with me,” Soyinka affirmed, adding that he would continue to speak as a global citizen against racism and policies he believes are wrong, including those of the Trump administration. He held the media briefing to inform people in the United States expecting him for events that they should “not waste their time.”
The permanent revocation follows an incident in September 2025, where Soyinka publicly refused to honor an invitation from the U.S. Consulate for a visa re-interview scheduled for Sept. 11, 2025. He initially dismissed the invitation, which was sent to many B1/B2 visa holders in Nigeria, as potentially fraudulent, and later maintained that he had “more important things to do.”
He had also expressed wariness of accepting invitations from a government that has a “white Idi Amin” at the helm, an apparent reference to President Trump.
The playwright had famously torn his Green Card in December 2016 following Trump’s electoral triumph for his first term in office, fulfilling a pledge he had made before the election.
