Nigeria’s Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has reacted with humour to the United States government’s decision to revoke his visa, describing the letter of notification from the US Consulate as a “curious love letter.”
Speaking at his Kongi’s Harvest Gallery in Lagos on Tuesday, Soyinka read from the notice he received on October 23, which directed him to appear at the US Consulate General in Lagos with his passport for the physical cancellation of his visa.
“We request you bring your visa to the US Consulate General Lagos for physical cancellation. To schedule an appointment, please email, et cetera, et cetera in advance of the appointment,” Soyinka read aloud, adding with a grin that it was “one of the most humorous requests” he had ever received.
The 91-year-old writer, who became the first African to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986, told the audience he was too busy to comply immediately. “Would any of you like to volunteer in my place? Take the passport for me? I’m a little bit busy and rushed,” he joked.
Soyinka’s visa was issued under former US President Joe Biden, but its revocation comes under Donald Trump’s second term in office.
The Trump administration has since embarked on a strict immigration review that targets individuals perceived to hold “hostile attitudes” toward US policies.
Maintaining his characteristic composure, Soyinka said he bore no resentment over the action, stressing that the US consulate staff had always treated him courteously.
“I want to assure the consulate, the Americans here, that I am very content with the revocation of my visa,” he said.
Known for his fearless criticism of injustice across the world, Soyinka quipped that perhaps the time had come to write a play about Donald Trump, recalling his past satirical works on African dictators like Idi Amin.
Soyinka, who once tore up his US green card in protest of Trump’s 2016 election, said the revocation would not affect his stance on free speech or his literary engagements.
“Governments have a way of papering things for their own survival. The revocation of one visa, ten visas, a thousand visas will not affect the national interests of any astute leader,” he declared.
