US revokes Wole Soyinka’s visa

The United States has permanently revoked the US visa of Nobel Laureate , Professor Wole Soyinka.

He revealed this on Tuesday at a media event held at Kongi’s Harvest Gallery in Freedom Park, Lagos. Even though he explained that the decision was a shock to him it is believed that the revocation followed his refusal to attend a re-interview requested by the U.S. Consulate.

He said, “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.

“I have no visa; I am banned, obviously, from the United States. And if you want to see me, you know where to find me,” he told journalists.

According to Soyinka, the US Consulate informed him of the revocation in a letter dated October 23, 2025.

A part of the letter reads, “This letter serves as official notification by the United States Consulate General in Lagos that the nonimmigrant visa listed below has been revoked pursuant to the authority contained in U.S. Department of State regulations.”

The Nobel Laureate expressed confusion over the development, saying, “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?”

Soyinka revealed that he had torn his American green card shortly after the emergence of former President Donald Trump in his first term, describing it as a personal protest against what he saw as divisive and discriminatory leadership.

Following that act, he said he resorted to travelling to the U.S. with a B1/B2 visa.

According to him, the consulate later invited him for a visa revalidation interview, which he ignored.

Then, on October 23, 2025, he received another letter asking him to visit the consulate so that his visa could be officially stamped as “cancelled permanently.”