(MENAFN) The United States has withdrawn the entry visa of Nigerian writer and Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, effectively preventing him from traveling to the country, according to recent reports.

Soyinka — renowned as Africa’s first recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature — revealed the decision during a press briefing held in Lagos. He explained that the US consulate had contacted him on October 23, requesting he return his visa for cancellation due to what was described as “additional information” that surfaced after the permit was granted.

“I have no visa, I am banned obviously from the United States,” he said.

The 91-year-old author humorously referred to the letter from the consulate as “a rather curious love letter” and “one of the most humorous requests” he has ever received.

Reports noted that this development coincides with Washington’s stricter immigration approach under President Donald Trump’s renewed administration, which returned to power in early 2025. The government has implemented tougher entry policies, and in July, the State Department revised its “reciprocal non-immigrant visa policy,” shortening visa durations and tightening requirements for nationals from several countries, including Nigeria.

Soyinka, who earned the Nobel Prize in 1986, has long maintained academic ties with top US universities such as Harvard and Yale. His acclaimed works include Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth and The Man Died, a memoir recounting his imprisonment during the Nigerian civil war from 1967 to 1969, following his attempt to broker peace.

The author once held US permanent residency but famously destroyed his green card in 2016 to protest Donald Trump’s election, reaffirming his long-standing criticism of the American leader’s migration stance.

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