Soyinka says he predicted U.S would revoke visas, green cards under Trump

Soyinka says he predicted U.S would revoke visas, green cards under Trump

Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka says he had long foreseen a sweeping revocation of U.S. visas and green cards under Donald Trump, adding that his own experience has now confirmed that prediction.

Speaking in an interview with BBC News Pidgin published on Wednesday, Soyinka — whose U.S. visa was recently withdrawn — said he had expected such policies from the moment Trump emerged president.

“The first thing he will do is cancel even the green cards,” the playwright said, recalling comments he made in 2016.

Describing Trump as a “petty-minded dictator,” Soyinka claimed the former U.S. president’s rhetoric fuelled racial tensions and police violence against minorities.

“We saw that dark side of the American state. There were more extrajudicial killings of black people and minorities during that build-up, encouraged by his hate rhetoric,” he said.

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His comments come amid renewed diplomatic tensions after Trump recently designated Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern,” alleging systematic killing of Christians — a claim the Nigerian government has rejected.

Trump also warned that the U.S. would “come in gun-ablazing” if the Nigerian government failed to stop the alleged attacks.

Soyinka, a long-time critic of Trump, famously tore up his U.S. green card shortly after Trump’s election, saying he wanted no association with the country under the former president.

“I have already done it. I have disengaged from the United States,” Soyinka said at the time.

In July, the U.S. State Department announced a restrictive visa policy for Nigerian citizens, limiting most non-immigrant visas to single entry with a three-month validity.

Soyinka later disclosed that his B1/B2 visa had been revoked, confirming that the U.S. Consulate wrote to demand its return for “physical cancellation,” a request he described as “a joke.”

The Consulate told him he would need to apply afresh “to re-establish eligibility” should he wish to travel again.

Soyinka, now 91, says he has no intention of doing so.

Soyinka says he predicted U.S would revoke visas, green cards under Trump