Visas are privilege, not right, US replies Soyinka

United States Consulate in Lagos has clarified that visas issued to foreign nationals are a privilege, not a right, following reports of the revocation of Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka’s US visa.

Responding to an inquiry from a national newspaper (not Tribune) on Thursday, the Consulate said it could not comment on Soyinka’s case due to confidentiality laws.

“Under US law, visa records are generally confidential. We will not discuss the details of this individual visa case,” said Julia McKay, Public Diplomacy Officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Lagos.

McKay, however, emphasised that the U.S. government reserves the right to withdraw visas at any time.

“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,” she stated.

Soyinka had, during a media briefing on Tuesday at Freedom Park, Lagos, revealed that his B1/B2 visa was revoked by the U.S. Embassy in a letter dated October 23, 2025.

The 91-year-old Nobel laureate said the revocation came as a surprise, noting that he was unaware of any wrongdoing that could have prompted the decision.

“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,” Soyinka told journalists.

Reflecting on his past travels, the playwright recalled two minor incidents — one involving undeclared green chilies at a U.S. airport and another decades-old altercation with a police officer in Atlanta — but doubted that either could have led to the revocation.

“These are the only two crimes I can consider myself guilty of in all the decades I’ve been going to the United States,” he said, maintaining that the reason for the action remains unclear.