US revokes Wole Soyinkaon's visa, Nigerian Nobel Laureate says ‘very content’

The famed writer won the 1986 Nobel Prize for Literature. He has been critical of Donald Trump ever since the Republican first won the White House in 2016.

Nigerian Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinkaon Tuesday said that the United States consulate in Lagos has revoked his visa.

The playwright and author Wole Soyinkaon previously held permanent residency in the United States, though he destroyed his green card after Donald Trump's first election in 2016.(X)

The famed writer, who won the 1986 Nobel Prize for Literature, has been critical of US President Donald Trump ever since the Republican first won the White House in 2016.

"I want to assure the consulate that I'm very content with the revocation of my visa," Soyinka said at a news conference.

The playwright and author previously held permanent residency in the United States, though he destroyed his green card after Trump's first election in 2016.

Soyinka said earlier this year that the US consulate in Lagos had called him in for an interview to reassess his visa.

The US embassy in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, is yet to comment on the development.

What did the consulate say while revoking Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinkaon’s visa?

According to a letter addressed to Wole Soyinkaon from the consulate, reported by news agency AFP, officials cited US State Department regulations that allow "a consular officer, the Secretary, or a Department official to whom the Secretary has delegated this authority... to revoke a nonimmigrant visa at any time, in his or her discretion".

Reading the letter aloud to journalists in Lagos, Soyinka said that officials asked him to bring his passport to the consulate so that his visa could be cancelled in person.

The 91-year-old playwright behind "Death and the King's Horseman" has taught and been awarded honours from top US universities, including Harvard and Cornell.

The Trump administration has made visa revocations a hallmark of its wider crackdown on immigration, notably targeting university students who were outspokenly critical of Israel’s war in Gaza and wider Palestinian statehood.

Many students and scholars, including those from India, have been deported due to even a whisker of what the Trump administration perceives as “anti-American”.