Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, says he had long predicted the United States would embark on widespread revocation of visas and green cards.
In an interview published by BBC News Pidgin on Wednesday, the globally celebrated playwright — whose US visa was recently withdrawn — said he had anticipated such actions the moment Donald Trump became president.
According to him, “The first thing he will do is cancel even the green cards.”
Soyinka added, “This is a petty-minded dictator, you see how he deals with his objects of hate. We saw that dark side of the American side. There were more killings, extrajudicial killings by the police of black people, of minorities, during that build-up, during the campaign, and on account of hate rhetoric, the hate rhetoric of this individual.
“I saw it and I said, listen very carefully — and you can go and check this – I said, ‘When that man comes to power, the first thing he will do is cancel even the green cards’.”
His remarks come amid renewed diplomatic friction between Nigeria and the US after Trump recently labelled Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern,” alleging genocide against Christians.
In a string of posts on X, the former US president also warned that America would “come in gun-ablazing” if the Nigerian government failed to halt the killings — a statement that has sparked alarm and condemnation both at home and abroad.
Soyinka, a known critic of Trump, had previously vowed to destroy his US Green Card once Trump took office — a promise he fulfilled shortly after the inauguration.
“I have already done it, I have disengaged (from the United States). I have done what I said I would do,” Soyinka, then 82, said during an education conference at the University of Johannesburg, according to AFP.
He continued, “I had a horror of what is to come with Trump… I threw away the (green) card, and I have relocated, and I’m back to where I have always been,” referring to Nigeria.
In July, the US Department of State announced changes to its visa policy for Nigerian citizens, restricting most non-immigrant and non-diplomatic visas to single entry and a three-month validity period.
Soyinka later revealed during a media briefing in Lagos that his B1/B2 visa had been revoked by the US Embassy.
A letter from the US Consulate dated October 23, 2025, requested that Soyinka return his visa for “physical cancellation” — a demand he described as “a joke.”
“If you have plans to travel to the United States, you must apply again to re-establish your qualifications for a new non-immigrant visa,” the Consulate stated.
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