Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has announced that his U.S. visa has been revoked.
Prof. Soyinka received a letter from the U.S. Consulate in Lagos dated October 23, 2025, stating that “additional information became available after the visa was issued” and asking him to return his passport for cancellation.
Soyinka revealed this during a press briefing in Lagos on Tuesday, October 28, saying he had no idea what could have caused the revocation. He said, “I have no visa, I am banned, obviously, from the United States.”
The decision comes at a time when the U.S. has been tightening its visa policies for Nigerians.
Earlier this year, the U.S. government reduced many non-immigrant visas for Nigerians from a five-year multiple entry to a single entry valid for only three months.
At 91, Soyinka has had a long and respected relationship with American institutions, having lectured at several universities there. The decision to revoke his visa has raised questions and criticism both in Nigeria and abroad, with Soyinka describing it as “inexplicable.”
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