Soyinka Reacts As U.S. Revokes His Visa

NOBEL laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, on Tuesday, October 28, expressed surprise and confusion over the revocation of his travel visa by the United States (US), making it impossible, for now, for him to enter the country.
He said: “I’m still looking into my past history… I don’t have any past criminal record or even a felony or misdemeanour to qualify for the revocation.
“I’ve 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?”
Speaking during a media parley at Kongi’s Harvest Gallery, Freedom Park, Lagos Island, Soyinka insisted he was unaware of any wrongdoing that could have warranted the revocation, adding: “It 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.
“I have no visa; I am banned, obviously, from the United States. And if you want to see me, you know where to find me.”
Although the actual reason for revoking his visa was not clear, as Soyinka said he was still in the dark about it, but the US government has been taking measures to curb the influx of illegal migrants into the country.
Soyinka explained that the US Consulate in Lagos, in a letter dated October 23, this year, and issued by the NIV Section, informed him of the revocation in a letter, stating: “This letter serves as official notification by the United States Consulate General in Lagos that the non-immigrant visa listed below has been revoked pursuant to the authority contained in U.S. Department of State regulations.”
Recall that the literary icon, on September 10, in an interview with PM News, while reacting to an invitation sent by the Consulate to Nigerians holding B1/B2 visas, asking them to appear for what it called a “visa interview,” said he would not honour the invitation, scheduled for Thursday, September 11.
His visa is classified as B1/B2, a temporary, non-immigrant visa for travel to the US for business (B-1) or tourism (B-2).
He had said: “I 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.
“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.
“So, 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 Attachés. As you know, it has always been a courteous relationship.”