Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka has been barred from entering the United States after the government revoked his visa, a move the celebrated playwright said he does not understand.
Speaking at a media briefing on Tuesday at Kongi’s Harvest Gallery, Freedom Park, Lagos Island, Mr Soyinka said he was unaware of any action that could have prompted the revocation.
“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,” he told journalists, according to The Punch.
He added, “It is necessary for me to hold this conference so that people in the United States who are expecting me for this event or that event do not waste their time.”
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The US Consulate in Lagos informed him of the revocation in a letter dated 23 October, stating,“This letter serves as official notification by the United States Consulate General in Lagos that the non-immigrant visa listed below has been revoked pursuant to the authority contained in the U.S. Department of State regulations.”
Mr Soyinka, a professor, said he is reflecting on his history with the US to understand the decision.
“I’m still looking into my past history… I don’t have any past criminal record or even a felony or misdemeanour to qualify for the revocation,” he said.
The development comes amid recent tightening of US travel policies affecting Nigerians. In July, the US Embassy in Nigeria announced that most non-immigrant visas would become single-entry with a three-month validity, down from five-year, multiple-entry permits.
A separate report indicated that the embassy has quietly revoked visas of Nigerian citizens without detailed explanation, citing only that “new information became available after the visa was issued.”
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Mr Soyinka holds a B1/B2 visa, for temporary business or tourism travel. He had declined a US Consulate request for a visa reassessment scheduled the following day, describing the communication as suspicious. Initially, he dismissed the revocation notice as a potential scam.
“At first, I thought it was advance-fee fraud… I had never received that kind of letter from any embassy. I even thought maybe AI generated it,” he told PM News.
The Nobel laureate maintained that he has long enjoyed cordial relations with US diplomatic officials and expressed hope that the situation would soon be clarified.
