Samuel Omang
Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has revealed that the United States government has revoked his visa, effectively barring his entry into the country for now.
Soyinka made the disclosure on Tuesday during a media parley held at Kongi’s Harvest Gallery, Freedom Park, Lagos Island. The revered playwright and public intellectual said he was unaware of any wrongdoing that could have prompted the revocation.
“It is necessary for me to hold this conference so that people in the United States who are expecting me for one event or another do not waste their time.
I have no visa; I am banned, obviously, from the United States. If you want to see me, you know where to find me,” he told journalists.
According to him, the U.S. Consulate in Lagos informed him in a letter dated October 23, 2025, that his non-immigrant visa had been revoked “pursuant to the authority contained in the U.S. Department of State regulations.” The letter, signed by officials from the Non-Immigrant Visa (NIV) Section, did not specify a reason for the decision.
Soyinka said he had no record of wrongdoing and was at a loss to understand the basis for the action.
“I’ve searched my history to see if I’ve ever offended the United States in any way. I have no criminal record, no misdemeanour, nothing to justify this,” he said.
The 89-year-old Nobel laureate explained that he initially dismissed the revocation notice as a potential scam until he confirmed its authenticity.
“At first, I thought it was one of those fraudulent letters sent by scammers who prey on people seeking visas. It was only after I verified it that I realised it was genuine,” he explained.
Soyinka’s revoked visa was a B1/B2 category—a temporary, non-immigrant visa used for short-term business and tourism.
The U.S. government has yet to issue an official statement explaining the reason for the action. However, the decision comes at a time of renewed migration controls and stricter visa reviews for several categories of international travellers.
Soyinka, who remains one of Africa’s most decorated literary figures, has had a long relationship with the United States, teaching at institutions such as Harvard, Cornell, and Emory University.
He is best known for his outspoken criticism of political oppression and corruption and for being the first African to win the Nobel Prize in Literature (1986).
Meanwhile, reports suggest that Soyinka may have destroyed his U.S. visa in protest after Donald Trump’s first-term election victory in 2016, a symbolic act many interpreted as his rejection of rising nationalism and intolerance in American politics.