The United States has canceled the visa of Wole Soyinka, a Nigerian writer and playwright who became the first African to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986.
Speaking at Kongi’s Harvest Gallery in Lagos on Tuesday, Soyinka read out a notice he recently received from the local US consulate asking him to arrive with his passport in order to invalidate his visa.
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“For physical cancellations, please bring your visa to the U.S. Consulate General in Lagos. To schedule an appointment, please contact us via email and other information prior to the appointment,” Soyinka said, skimming the letter.
While closing his laptop, the author joked to the audience that he didn’t have time to fulfill the request.
“I like people with a sense of humor. This is one of the humorous texts and requests I have received in my life,” Soyinka said.
“Is there anyone who can take my place? Will you take it? I’m a little busy and in a hurry.”
Soyinka’s visa was issued last year under US President Joe Biden. But in the meantime, a new president has taken office: Donald Trump.
Since beginning his second term in January, President Trump has overseen an immigration crackdown, with his administration stripping visas and green cards from individuals it deems inconsistent with the Republican president’s policies.
Mr. Soyinka sounded puzzled at Tuesday’s event, suggesting that the revocation of his visa would prevent him from visiting the United States for literary and cultural events.
“I want to assure the consulate and the Americans there that I am very happy with the cancellation of the visa,” Soyinka said.
He also quipped about his past experience writing about Ugandan military leader Idi Amin. “Maybe it’s time to write a play about Donald Trump,” he said.
Nobel Prize winners taking aim
Soyinka is a prominent figure in African literature, with a career that spans genres from journalism to poetry to translation.
He is the author of several novels, including Seasons of Anomie and Chronicles of the Happiest People on Earth, as well as numerous short stories.
The 91-year-old author has also championed the fight against censorship. “Books and all forms of writing are terror to those who wish to suppress the truth,” he wrote.
He spoke on the subject in New York City for PEN America, a free speech nonprofit. As recently as 2021, he returned to the United States to present the nonprofit organization’s Literary Achievement Award to scholar and former colleague Henry Louis Gates Jr.
But Soyinka is not the first Nobel laureate to have his US visa revoked following Trump’s return to the presidency, despite the US president’s own ambitions to win the international prize.
Oscar Arias, former president of Costa Rica and 1987 Nobel Peace Prize winner, also found out in April that his visa had been revoked.
Arias has previously been honored by the Nobel Committee for his efforts to end armed conflict in Central American countries such as Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala.
The letter Arias received from the U.S. government did not list a reason for the visa revocation, but the former president told NPR’s morning radio show that officials indicated his ties to China were the reason.
“During my second administration from 2006 to 2010, I established diplomatic relations with China because China is the second largest economy in the world,” Arias explained.
However, Arias added that he could not rule out that there may be other reasons for the visa cancellation.
“You have to imagine that my criticism of President Trump may have had an impact,” Arias told NPR. “The president has a personality that does not accept criticism or differences of opinion.”
Soyinka similarly has a reputation for being outspoken about both domestic politics in his native Nigeria and international affairs.
In 2017, he admitted to The Atlantic magazine that he had revoked his U.S. green card to protest Trump’s 2016 primary election.
“As long as President Trump is in power, if I absolutely have to visit the United States, I would prefer to join everyone else in line to get a regular visa,” he told the magazine.
The key, he explained, is to show that you are “no longer a member of society, no longer a resident.”
In his remarks on Tuesday, Soyinka emphasized that he continues to have close friends in the United States.
He has long faced persecution in Nigeria for his work, famously continuing to write using toilet paper while in solitary confinement, before eventually emigrating to the United States in the 1990s.
While in North America, he held teaching positions at prestigious universities such as Harvard University, Yale University, and Emory University.
Target “hostile attitude”
But the Trump administration has promised to revoke visas for individuals it deems to threaten national security and foreign policy interests.
In June, President Trump issued a statement calling on the government to strengthen immigration procedures to ensure visa holders “do not engage in attitudes hostile to our people, our culture, our government, our institutions, or our founding ideals.”
It is unclear what constitutes a “hostile attitude” toward American culture. Human rights activists say such broad language could be used as a smokescreen to suppress dissent.
After all, free speech is protected by the First Amendment and is considered a fundamental principle in this country that protects individual expression from government constraints.
The UN-recognized nonprofit Economist for Peace and Security also expressed outrage after Arias’ visa was revoked.
“This action, taken without explanation, raises serious concerns about the treatment of a globally respected elder statesman who has dedicated his life to peace, democracy and diplomacy,” the nonprofit said in a statement.
“Disagreement over foreign policy or political viewpoints should not lead to punitive measures against individuals who have made significant contributions to international peace and stability.”
International students, social media commenters, and government officials have also faced backlash for expressing their opinions and forging unfavorable relations with foreign countries.
Earlier this month, Panama’s President José Raul Mulino expressed concern that Panamanian government officials had their visas revoked due to diplomatic ties with China.
And in September, while visiting New York City, Colombian President Gustavo Petro saw his visa revoked within hours of giving a critical speech at the United Nations and participating in protests against Israel’s war in Gaza.
The US State Department later condemned Petro’s actions as “reckless and inflammatory.”
Separately, the State Department announced on October 14 that it would revoke the visas of six foreign nationals for criticizing assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk, a close aide to President Trump.
Mr. Soyinka questioned President Trump’s stated motives for canceling so many visas at a literary event in Lagos on Tuesday, asking whether it really made a difference to the national security of the United States.
“Governments have a way of putting things on paper for their own survival,” he says.
“I want people to understand that canceling one visa, 10 visas, 1,000 visas does not affect the national interest of any wise leader.”
