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Soyinka Should Stay Back And Enjoy Renewed Hope! Nigerian Mocks After U.S. Visa Revocation
By Benjamin Abioye
Nigerians on social media are reacting strongly to the revelation by Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka that the United States Consulate in Lagos revoked his visa earlier this month.
Soyinka had explained that he received a letter from the Consulate, dated October 23, 2025, inviting him to appear for a session where his B1/B2 visa would be stamped as cancelled. He declined the invitation, saying, “I am not going there to help them cancel it.”
He noted that the move followed his refusal to attend a requested re-interview, which he described as “strange.” According to him, the revocation “does not bother” him, insisting that “my conscience is my visa.”
Many Nigerians, however, quickly connected the situation to Soyinka’s 2016 statement in which he vowed to tear up his U.S. Green Card if Donald Trump won the presidential election — a promise he later fulfilled.
Online commentators were quick to remind him of that act, saying the present outcome may have been inevitable.
User @theClevite (Clement Tanimose) recalled, “Professor Wole Soyinka and US Embassy have been at loggerheads for more than one month. He once made it public that the Embassy sent him an invitation for visa re-interview, which he queried as strange. This revocation might not be unconnected with that refusal.”
Others traced it back to his Trump-era protest. @men2or (Iwuchukwu Igweamaka) posted, “Confirmation video of Prof. Wole Soyinka in 2016 giving up his US green card, fast forward to 2025… Nine years later.”
@benAfricaNG (African Affairs Observer) urged caution before assuming political motives: “Before we start spinning conspiracy theories about what Prof Soyinka said about Trump, let’s look at a simple logistical reason… The green card could have been cancelled for lack of meaningful use.”
But many Nigerians took a harsher tone. @obioma_onwuka remarked, “You can’t plant corn and expect to harvest yam. He even dared to apply, when before the United States elections, he said he would tear up his Green card if President Donald Trump won.”
@Northernkid01 (Abubakar Sadiq Mohammed) said, “Was he not the same person that claimed that he will destroy his green card if Trump becomes president? Sometimes I wonder why people will pray and God will answer — and they will still complain.”
@_yang_EL (E of Jos) added, “Lesson and a reminder to people who make careless statements. He brought this upon himself, now he’s playing victim?”
Some found humor in the matter. @eromsidem (SAKA.IS.HIM) wrote, “You tear green card, later apply for visa. Dem revoke visa maybe after realising you tore your green card & you are complaining?”
Another user, @MarvellousIsra3, echoed the same sentiment: “Wole Soyinka once vowed to tear up his U.S. green card if Trump won — and he did. Now he’s complaining that the U.S. revoked his visa? Actions have consequences, Prof.”
@BekeChinwendu (BCN) quipped, “He promised to tear up his Visa if Trump wins the election. Since he didn’t keep up to his words, Trump had to do it for him.”
Others mocked what they described as inconsistency. @XOghre (Urhobo Water) asked, “I thought he has a green card. If he tore it as he promised, why apply for a visa to a place you vowed not to enter again?”
@SirOdigie (SupremeClerk) wrote sarcastically, “Perfect. Let him stay right here in Nigeria with his ‘beloved’ Tinubu. No need for America — he can enjoy the ‘renewed hopelessness’ he helped whitewash.”
While many criticized Soyinka for being “reckless with his words,” some defended him. @joevankas argued, “He actually thinks a 90-year-old man would be the one to suffer from this and not the numerous students he is impacting by lecturing in the states.”
Soyinka’s visa revocation has therefore reopened public debate about accountability, political expression, and personal conviction.
As @NellieFizz17117 (Nelson Fizzle) summed it up: “Now it’s boomerang on him after bragging a few years ago to tear up his U.S. Green card if Trump wins the election. Internet never forgets — that’s why we must be constructive whilst making statements.”
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