Nobel laureate Professor Wole Soyinka has disclosed that the United States government has revoked his visa, effectively barring him from entering the country.
Speaking during a press briefing on Tuesday at Kongi’s Harvest Gallery, Freedom Park, Lagos, Soyinka said he received no prior notice or explanation for the decision.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
The playwright revealed that the U.S. Consulate in Lagos officially notified him in a letter dated October 23, 2025. The letter, issued by the Consulate’s NIV Section, stated:
“This letter serves as official notification by the United States Consulate General in Lagos that the nonimmigrant visa listed below has been revoked pursuant to the authority contained in U.S. Department of State regulations.”
Expressing surprise, Soyinka said he had no record of wrongdoing that could warrant such action.
“I’m still looking into my past history… I don’t have any past criminal record or even a felony or misdemeanor to qualify for the revocation,” he stated.
“I’ve started looking back—have I ever misbehaved toward the United States of America? Do I have a history? Have I been convicted? Have I gone against the law anywhere?”
The reason for the visa revocation remains unclear. The withdrawn document was a B1/B2 non-immigrant visa, commonly issued for temporary business or tourism purposes.
Soyinka had earlier told PM News on September 10, 2025, that he declined an invitation from the U.S. Consulate for a re-interview scheduled for the next day. At the time, several Nigerians with valid visas had been asked to appear for what the consulate described as a “visa interview.”
“I would like to begin by stressing the fact that, for me, this is not a personal issue. I have no idea how you got to know. By the way, I also received the letter, which at first I thought was fake,” Soyinka said in the interview.
He initially dismissed the notification as a scam. “So, at first, I thought it was advance-fee fraud because I had never received that kind of letter from that or any other embassy. I even thought that maybe AI had been generating generic letters. It was very strange,” he recounted.
Upon confirming the letter’s authenticity, Soyinka reflected on his cordial past relationships with American diplomats.
“So, by the time I came to terms with the fact that the letter was genuine, my mind went to my relationship with individual ambassadors, Consuls General, and Cultural Attachés. As you know, it has always been a courteous relationship,” he said.
As of now, the U.S. authorities have not issued any public statement regarding the revocation, while Soyinka maintains that the reason behind the move remains a mystery.
