U.S. Revokes Wole Soyinka’s Visa Years After His ‘Wolexit’ Protest
Nearly a decade after Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka symbolically discarded his U.S. green card in protest of Donald Trump’s 2016 election victory, the U.S. government has revoked his non-immigrant visa.
In a letter dated October 23, the U.S. Consulate-General in Lagos instructed Soyinka to present his passport for visa cancellation, citing “additional information” obtained after issuance.
Soyinka, who has long maintained that he “disengaged from the United States” following Trump’s rise to power, said he was not informed of any specific offence linked to the revocation. He explained that his recent visa application was to address a tax audit initiated by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The celebrated playwright first made headlines in 2016 when he announced his “Wolexit”, a personal protest against what he described as Trump’s xenophobic rhetoric. Soyinka obtained his green card in the 1990s during a political sabbatical at Emory University, aided by former President Jimmy Carter.