Renowned Nigerian writer and Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka has revealed that the United States government recently revoked his visa, citing administrative and policy-related reasons.
Speaking at a literary symposium in Lagos on Friday, Soyinka said he was informed of the revocation through official correspondence from the U.S. consulate and described the move as “curious and unnecessary.”
According to The Guardian Nigeria (Nov. 2025), the 89-year-old playwright made the disclosure while addressing young writers at an event titled “Freedom and the Future of Expression.”
“It came as a surprise. I received notice that my U.S. visa had been withdrawn without explanation. I can only presume that it is part of a tightening policy or an administrative error,” Soyinka said.
Soyinka, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986, has long maintained strong academic and personal ties with the United States, holding visiting professorships at Harvard, Emory, and Loyola Marymount Universities.
BBC News (Nov. 2025) reported that Soyinka’s aides confirmed he had last traveled to the U.S. in early 2024 and that the revocation came shortly before a scheduled speaking engagement in New York.
“It’s unfortunate that bureaucracy can sometimes undermine cultural exchange,” one of his associates told the BBC.
The U.S. Embassy in Abuja, responding to inquiries from Reuters (Nov. 2025), said it does not comment on individual visa cases but emphasized that visa decisions are guided by “U.S. immigration law and global policy updates.”
Premium Times (Nov. 2025) noted that Soyinka used the opportunity to criticize global governments’ growing restrictions on freedom of movement and expression, stressing that “the creative mind should not be bound by borders.”
“I have lived long enough to know that no visa can define a person’s value to humanity,” he said to applause.
The Nigerian government has not issued an official statement, but sources within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Channels TV that it is seeking clarification from the U.S. authorities through diplomatic channels.
Sources
The Guardian Nigeria – Wole Soyinka says U.S. revoked his visa unexpectedly (Nov 2025)
BBC News – Nigerian Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka confirms U.S. visa withdrawal (Nov 2025)
Reuters – U.S. embassy declines comment as Soyinka reports visa revocation (Nov 2025)
Premium Times – Soyinka links visa issue to global clampdown on free expression (Nov 2025)
Channels Television – Nigeria seeks clarification after Wole Soyinka’s U.S. visa reportedly revoked (Nov 2025)
