The United States Embassy in Lagos has fired back with a blunt clarification: American visas are a privilege, not an entitlement and they can be yanked at any time.
Responding to inquiries from The PUNCH on the shock revocation of Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka’s B1/B2 visa, the US Consulate was unequivocal on Thursday, stressing that it would not speak on the specifics of the case due to confidentiality laws.
“Under U.S. law, visa records are generally confidential. We will not discuss the details of this individual visa case,” a spokesperson for the US Mission in Nigeria stated.
Then came the kicker.
“Visas are a privilege, not a right. Every country, including the United States, can determine who enters its borders. Visas may be revoked at any time, at the discretion of the U.S. government, whenever circumstances warrant,” the mission declared in a curt email response.
The comments followed Soyinka’s startling revelation this week that his US visa had been revoked. The 91-year-old literary icon broke the news during a media briefing in Lagos tagged “Unending Saga: Idi Amin in Whiteface.”
“I have no visa; I am banned, obviously, from the United States,” Soyinka announced at Freedom Park. “It is necessary for me to hold this press conference so that people in the United States who are expecting me do not waste their time.”
According to him, the notice came via a letter dated October 23, 2025 from the US Consulate General in Lagos.
Soyinka, a fierce critic of US President Donald Trump insisted he had no idea why Washington pulled the plug.
“I’ve started looking back — have I ever misbehaved towards the United States of America? Do I have a history? Have I been convicted? Have I gone against the law anywhere?” he asked, visibly puzzled.
With Washington keeping its lips sealed and Soyinka claiming innocence, speculation now swirls around one of Africa’s most revered cultural figures and why the US decided to shut its doors on him.
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