US Revokes Visa of Nigerian Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka

The United States has revoked the visa of Nigerian Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, making him the latest high-profile figure to be affected by the Trump administration’s visa review policy. Soyinka, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986, disclosed the development on Tuesday while speaking at ‘Kongi’s Harvest Gallery’ in Lagos.

He read from a letter dated October 23 from the US Consulate in Lagos, requesting that he bring in his passport for “physical cancellation.” Soyinka, who described the message as a “curious love letter,” joked that he was too busy to comply, adding that he remained “content” with the decision.

The 91-year-old playwright said the visa withdrawal would prevent him from attending upcoming literary events in the United States but noted that he continues to maintain friendly ties with Americans and the US Consulate staff. He previously destroyed his US green card in protest after Donald Trump’s election in 2016.

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Reports indicate that other Nobel Prize winners, including Oscar Arias, a former President of Costa Rica, have also had their US visas cancelled under the Trump administration’s tougher immigration policies. Soyinka, who once taught at Harvard, Yale, and Emory universities, questioned whether such measures truly enhance US national security.