Tuesday, July 14, 2026

Why I won’t renew my destroyed U.S. green card: Soyinka

Mr. Soyinka had in 2016 vowed to tear up his green card if Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election that year.

• January 21, 2021
Wole Soyinka
Wole Soyinka [PHOTO CREDIT: Brittle Paper]

Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, has explained that he has no intention of renewing his torn U.S. green card.

Mr. Soyinka who made this known during an Interview with Arise TV on Wednesday, explained why he refused to show the pieces of the torn green card to the public.

He  stated that his refusal to show the torn green card to those that requested was because of the slavish manner in which they tabled their request.

Displaying a piece of the torn green card, Mr. Soyinka said: “I hope you can see it. I brought it along up Just in case. Up till now I have refused to show it to many Nigerians who are asking, because they did not ask it in a constructive way, they asked it in a very negative and slavish way because they were scared they could be offending the president of the United States.”

“So it’s all over, it’s cut to pieces, I have no intention of renewing it by the way but at least I’m resuming normal diplomatic relations with our people in the U.S.,” He said. “ But something we always forget is this, the black African continent, is a huge component of what we call the U.S.”

Mr. Soyinka had in 2016 vowed to tear up his green card if Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election that year.

While many believed that the veteran playwright’s threat could not hold water, he claimed that he destroyed his green card and returned to Nigeria after Mr. Trump was announced winner.

“As long as Trump is in charge, if I absolutely have to visit the United States, I prefer to go in the queue for a regular visa with others. I’m no longer part of the society, not even as a resident,” Mr. Soyinka said after tearing up his green card.

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