Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka Banned from United States, Visa Revoked

Nigerian Nobel Prize winner Wole Soyinka has announced that the United States government has revoked his visa and banned him from entering the country, in a development that has sparked international concern about American visa policies toward African intellectuals and critics of President Donald Trump.

The 91-year-old author, who won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1986 as the first African laureate in that category, revealed during a Tuesday news conference that the US consulate summoned him to surrender his passport for in-person visa cancellation. Soyinka described the invitation as "a rather curious love letter from an embassy" and advised organizations planning to invite him to America "not to waste their time."

The US embassy in Nigeria declined to comment on the case, citing confidentiality policies regarding individual visa matters. However, Soyinka has directly linked the revocation to his vocal criticism of Trump's administration and immigration policies.

Soyinka's confrontation with American immigration policy is not new. The celebrated playwright and poet previously held permanent US residency but dramatically renounced it in 2016, publicly tearing up his green card—a permanent residence permit highly valued by African immigrants—in protest of Trump's initial election victory.

"I have no visa. I am banned," Soyinka stated plainly on Tuesday, confirming he no longer possesses his green card. He added with characteristic humor that it had "fallen between the fingers of a pair of scissors and it got cut into a couple of pieces."

The author has maintained regular teaching engagements at US universities over the past three decades, making the visa revocation particularly significant for academic institutions that have benefited from his presence and scholarship.

Soyinka has been characteristically outspoken in his criticism of Trump's policies, recently comparing the American president to Idi Amin, Uganda's brutal dictator who ruled from 1971 to 1979. Amin's regime became infamous for widespread human rights abuses, ethnic persecution, and the deaths of an estimated 300,000 Ugandans.

"When I called Donald Trump Idi Amin, I thought I was paying him a compliment," Soyinka said during the news conference. "He's been behaving like a dictator." The Nobel laureate suggested this comparison—describing Trump as "Idi Amin in white face"—may have contributed to his current visa troubles.

When asked whether he would consider returning to the US, the 91-year-old responded pointedly: "How old am I?" suggesting his advanced age makes the prospect increasingly irrelevant.

Soyinka's case occurs against the backdrop of sweeping changes to US visa policies affecting multiple African nations, including Ghana. In July, the US State Department announced radical revisions to its non-immigrant visa policy for citizens of Nigeria, Cameroon, Ethiopia, and Ghana.

Under the new policy, nearly all non-immigrant and non-diplomatic visas issued to nationals of these four countries are now single-entry and valid for only three months. This represents a dramatic rollback from the previous system, which granted up to five-year, multiple-entry visas—a change that has significantly impacted business travel, academic exchanges, and family visits.

The visa policy changes and Soyinka's ban have profound implications for Ghana and the broader African continent. Academic and cultural exchange between Africa and the United States has historically relied on accessible visa policies that enable scholars, artists, and intellectuals to teach, lecture, and collaborate at American institutions.

Ghana, specifically mentioned in the visa restrictions, shares Nigeria's experience of producing internationally recognized intellectuals and artists who contribute to global academic discourse. The country's universities and cultural institutions maintain active partnerships with American counterparts, and restrictive visa policies threaten these collaborative relationships.

For Ghanaian academics, artists, and professionals who regularly travel to the US for conferences, research collaborations, and teaching opportunities, the three-month single-entry visa restriction creates significant practical challenges. Multiple trips now require multiple visa applications, increasing costs and bureaucratic hurdles.

Soyinka's case has drawn attention to broader concerns about Trump's immigration policies and their impact on international intellectual exchange. The targeting of a 91-year-old Nobel laureate for visa revocation based on political criticism raises questions about freedom of expression and academic freedom in US-Africa relations.

The author's four-decade career includes acclaimed works such as Death and the King's Horseman, The Lion and the Jewel, and Aké: The Years of Childhood. His contributions to literature, human rights advocacy, and pro-democracy activism across Africa have earned him international recognition beyond his Nobel Prize.

Soyinka actively opposed military dictatorship in Nigeria during the 1990s, spending years in exile after being sentenced to death in absentia by the Sani Abacha regime. His consistent stance against authoritarianism makes his comparison of Trump to Idi Amin particularly significant not mere rhetoric but a considered assessment from someone with personal experience of dictatorial governance.

The visa revocation adds strain to US-Africa relations at a time when African nations are increasingly diversifying their international partnerships, with growing ties to China, the European Union, and emerging economies. Actions perceived as dismissive or punitive toward respected African figures risk damaging America's soft power on the continent.

For Ghana and other African democracies, Soyinka's treatment raises concerns about whether criticism of US policies will result in punitive measures against their citizens. This has potential implications for diplomatic relations and the willingness of African intellectuals to engage with American institutions.

Soyinka has made clear he does not intend to pursue reinstatement of his US visa, viewing the matter as settled. His ban effectively ends decades of academic engagement with American universities, representing a loss for institutions that have benefited from his teaching and presence.

The broader visa policy changes remain in effect for Nigerian, Ghanaian, Cameroonian, and Ethiopian citizens, with no announced timeline for review or modification. African governments continue diplomatic engagement with the US State Department regarding these restrictions, though no significant policy reversals have been indicated.

For the international academic and literary community, Soyinka's case serves as a cautionary example of how immigration policy can restrict intellectual exchange and penalize political expression concerns that extend well beyond one individual to affect thousands of scholars, students, and professionals navigating increasingly restrictive visa regimes.