In a move raising serious questions about freedom of speech, the renowned Nigerian Nobel Prize-winning author, Wole Soyinka, has revealed that his visa to the United States has been revoked.
Speaking at a press conference in Lagos on Thursday, the 91-year-old writer and prominent critic of Donald Trump explained the ban was a direct result of a speech in which he compared the US President to the infamous Ugandan dictator, Idi Amin.
“I have no visa now, I am facing a ban,” Soyinka told reporters.
In a sarcastic tone, he added, “Idi Amin was an international figure, a head of state… so when I called Donald Trump an Idi Amin, I thought I was praising him. But in fact, he is behaving like a dictator.”
The Nobel laureate detailed that the U.S. consulate had summoned him with his passport specifically to cancel the visa.
This is not Soyinka’s first act of protest against the Trump administration. In 2016, following Trump’s election victory, he famously tore up his U.S. Green Card and renounced his permanent residency. This latest incident occurs as Trump’s second term has introduced major changes to visa policies, including new restrictions in July that limit visas for citizens of Nigeria and other African nations to single-entry, short-term permits.
