Nobel Laureate Says He Does Not Care About His Revoked Visa
October 31, 2025
Before Soyinka’s visa was taken, he’d already destroyed his U.S. green card.
Nobel Prize-winning author Wole Soyinka said his U.S. non-immigrant visa was revoked by the American government.
In a video on The Cable YouTube channel, Soyinka suggested the cause of revocation may be linked to his vocal criticism of Donald Trump. The 91-year-old laureate announced the decision during a news conference in Lagos on Tuesday. The letter cited “additional information became available” after the visa was issued, but did not provide specifics.
Soyinka said he believes the revocation was prompted by his remarks comparing Trump to Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.
“Idi Amin was a man of international stature, a statesman, so when I called Donald Trump Idi Amin, I thought I was paying him a compliment,” he said.
Soyinka won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986, becoming the first Black African to receive that honor. He said a letter dated Oct. 23 from the U.S. Consulate in Lagos instructed him to bring his passport to have the visa physically cancelled.
“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,” Soyinka said.
The Nobel winner said he believes the government’s actions highlight the emerging culture of punishing dissent.
“It’s not about me, I’m not really interested in going back to the United States,” he said. “But a principle is involved. Human beings deserve to be treated decently wherever they are.”
The U.S. Embassy in Nigeria declined to comment on the case, citing the confidentiality of visa records. State Department rules grant consular officials broad discretion to revoke non-immigrant visas when circumstances warrant.
Soyinka’s situation is only the latest among prominent global figures whose U.S. visas were revoked in recent months. In one example, former Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, also reported having his visa cancelled without explanation after public criticism of U.S. policy.
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