{"id":15110,"date":"2025-10-29T08:01:01","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T08:01:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/?p=15110"},"modified":"2025-10-29T08:01:01","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T08:01:01","slug":"exclusive-u-s-state-dept-designates-africas-nobel-laureate-wole-soyinka-a-persona-non-grata-threat-to-national-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/exclusive-u-s-state-dept-designates-africas-nobel-laureate-wole-soyinka-a-persona-non-grata-threat-to-national-security\/","title":{"rendered":"EXCLUSIVE: U.S. State Dept Designates Africa’s Nobel Laureate, WOLE SOYINKA a Persona Non Grata, Threat to National Security"},"content":{"rendered":"

…In a Classified Secret Documentation tagged ‘Confidential’ <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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*Flags constant vitriol, racist rhetoric against America\u2019s President, Donald Trump & policies major factor<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

*\u201cI\u2019m still looking into my past history\u2026I don\u2019t have any past criminal record or even a felony or misdemeanor to qualify for the revocation. I\u2019ve started looking back. Have I ever misbehaved toward the United States of America? Do I have a history? Have I been convicted? Have I gone against the law anywhere? I have no visa; I am banned. I am still in the dark, no reason given for my visa revocation\u201d<\/strong><\/span>-SOYINKA<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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*BY ROBERT McMAN, INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, NAIJA STANDARD NEWSPAPER INC USA reporting LIVE from Washington DC<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Africa\u2019s only Nobel Laureate in Literature, Nigeria\u2019s Wole Soyinka has been designated a persona non grata<\/em> and threat to the National Security of the United States of America by the State Department for daring to lambast, tongue-lash, and rubbish the policies of the 47th<\/sup> President of the United States constantly on international media interviews, which top diplomats believe had \u2018diminished the stature of the sitting president and made mockery of his programs\u2019 for the American people. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The State Department has been following and systematically documenting Soyinka\u2019s jibes against Trump during his first term then as 45th<\/sup> President on January 20, 2017, and second term on January 20, 2025. In a sighted, secret classified documentation tagged \u2018Confidential\u2019 on the need to ensure that whoever does not project the interest of the United States or lawful elected leaders for the peace and security of the \u2018free world\u2019 are working antithetical to the National Security of America, Soyinka\u2019s biodata appeared. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Under the alleged approval of the Secretary of State, Senator Marco Rubio, coded instructions were passed through secured back-end channels to diplomats at the United States Embassy in Abuja and Consular Office in Lagos State.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The consequences of Soyinka\u2019s alleged diatribe against Trump were seen by the diplomats in the State Department as unjustified. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The \u2018Confidential\u2019 classified document seen by Naija Standard Newspaper International Security <\/em>correspondent confirmed that circulars were wired to United States Embassy in Abuja and Consular Office in Lagos State, under the title, \u201cWOLE SOYINKA, Nigerian, Threat to U.S National Security, LIFE BAN.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Corroborating this view, a senior aide in U.S. State Department confided in us in these words unedited: \u201cNigerian Nobel Laureate in Literature, Wole Soyinka caught the attention of the United States government when he seemingly grants international media interviews on a regular basis for years criticizing the person and policies of President Donald Trump purposely to ridicule him in the eyes of the Western nations and the general public. His regular deride of Trump was flagged by law enforcement agencies at different intervals, since that had generated buzz in many social circles and the government did not take that lightly.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis was why a letter was issued by the NIV Section of the Consulate to Soyinka, where the US Consulate informed him of his visa revocation in a letter dated October 23, 2025, with no reason given, which states that the letter serves as official notification by the United States Consulate General in Lagos that the nonimmigrant visa listed below has been revoked pursuant to the authority contained in U.S. Department of State regulations.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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After Soyinka received the shocking letter, on Tuesday he announced that the United States of America has revoked his visa, making his entry into the country impossible for now.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Soyinka disclosed this during a media parley held at Kongi\u2019s Harvest Gallery, Freedom Park, Lagos Island, saying he was unaware of any wrongdoing that could have warranted the revocation.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

His words: \u201cIt is necessary for me to hold this conference so that people in the United States who are expecting me for this event or that event do not waste their time.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI have no visa; I am banned, obviously, from the United States. And if you want to see me, you know where to find me,\u201d he told journalists.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The reason for the visa revocation remains unclear, as Soyinka himself said he was still in the dark about it.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Inside of a filing cabinet with green folders and focus on confidential label<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In recent times, the US government has taken steps to curb the influx of migrants into the country.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

According to Soyinka, the US Consulate informed him of the revocation in a letter dated October 23, 2025, which reads: \u201cThis letter serves as official notification by the United States Consulate General in Lagos that the nonimmigrant visa listed below has been revoked pursuant to the authority contained in U.S. Department of State regulations,\u201d part of the letter, shown to our correspondent by Soyinka, read.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The Nobel Laureate expressed confusion over the development, saying, \u201cI\u2019m still looking into my past history\u2026 I don\u2019t have any past criminal record or even a felony or misdemeanor to qualify for the revocation.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve started looking back-have I ever misbehaved toward the United States of America? Do I have a history? Have I been convicted? Have I gone against the law anywhere?\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

For the records, Nigeria news publication, PM News<\/em> had earlier reported on September 10, 2025, that Soyinka said he would not honour an invitation by the US Consulate in Nigeria for a visa re-interview, which was scheduled for Thursday, September 11.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

He made this known in an interview with the medium while reacting to the recent invitation sent by the American Consulate to Nigerians holding B1\/B2 visas, asking them to appear for what it called a \u201cvisa interview.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Soyinka\u2019s visa is classified as B1\/B2-a temporary, non-immigrant visa for travel to the United States for business (B-1) or tourism (B-2).<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI would like to begin by stressing the fact that, for me, this is not a personal issue. I have no idea how you got to know. By the way, I also received the letter, which at first, I thought was fake. I thought it came from scammers who prey on those eager to get visas elsewhere, promising to deliver them for a certain amount. I thought they had simply picked my name among others, knowing there was a list of invitees.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo, at first, I thought it was advance-fee fraud because I had never received that kind of letter from that or any other embassy. I even thought that maybe AI had been generating generic letters. It was very strange.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo, by the time I came to terms with the fact that the letter was genuine, my mind went to my relationship with individual ambassadors, Consuls General, and Cultural Attach\u00e9s. As you know, it has always been a courteous relationship,\u201d Soyinka told PM News<\/em> in September.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Recalled that Soyinka earlier said he felt saddened by happenings in the United States, where Donald Trump is in the saddle as President.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Soyinka, who had in 2016 threatened to shred his green card if Trump won the election and became President, remarked: \u201cIt\u2019s one of the saddest developing phenomena that I know of.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI just feel very, very sad that what\u2019s happening in the States should be happening in such a potentially progressive country,\u201d the nonagenarian world-acclaimed writer said in a conversation with freelance arts journalist, Laura Collins-Hughes, published in the New York Times.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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In a piece titled, \u201cAt 90, Wole Soyinka Revisits His Younger, More Optimistic Self,\u201d Collins-Hughes quoted the Nobel laureate as saying he feels distressed by recent events in the United States, where he once lived in self-imposed exile, tagging the country \u201cMAGA land.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Asked if he feels safe in the US these days, given the current political atmosphere in which foreign governments- including Britain, Germany and Canada-have warned their citizens about travelling to the United States, Soyinka said, \u201cOh, I\u2019ve lived in a constant state of non-safety.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo, I\u2019m used to that. If I\u2019m walking through the street and they pick me up, I have no problem whatsoever. You know, my laptop is where it is. It\u2019s up in the clouds,\u201d he said with a smile.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Since his second coming, Trump has launched a vigorous campaign against irregular immigrants in America while also slapping tariff hikes on trade partners across the globe, including Nigeria, where he imposed 14% on Nigerian exports to the US.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

America cited Nigeria\u2019s ban on 25 items from the US for its decision to impose a 14% tariff on Nigerian goods.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In a 2016 conversation with The INTERVIEW<\/em>, Soyinka expressed resentment at Trump\u2019s emergence as US President, saying it spelt trouble for humanity.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

He then said he would tear his green card on January 20, 2017, the day Trump was to be inaugurated as the 45th President of the US.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Asked if he still intended to thrash the card, he said, \u201cCome January 20, 2017; watch my WOLEXIT!\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

By WOLEXIT, he seemed to be referring to his final \u2018exit\u2019 from the US, playing on Brexit, the expression referring to Britain\u2019s historical exit from the European Union.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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