𝐈 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐚𝐰 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐩 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 – 𝐒𝐨𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐚

Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, says he is not surprised by reports that the United States government under Donald Trump is revoking visas and green cards of several immigrants, noting that he had long foreseen such a development.

Soyinka, who spoke during a public lecture in Lagos on Wednesday, said the decision reflects Trump’s longstanding nationalist posture and disregard for global diversity, values he had warned about years ago when the former president first assumed office.

“I said it before — that man would make life unbearable for anyone he sees as an outsider. I wasn’t speaking as a prophet, but simply as someone who could read his temperament and ideology,” Soyinka said.

He recalled that shortly after Trump’s first election in 2016, he symbolically tore up his U.S. green card in protest, describing it then as “a badge of shame” in a climate of intolerance.

The playwright added that the latest policy direction by the U.S. government was a “logical consequence” of Trump’s worldview, which, according to him, has always been anchored on exclusion and fear.

Soyinka urged African nations to use this moment as a reminder of the need to strengthen their institutions and create societies people would not feel compelled to flee.

“Let this be a wake-up call,” he said. “When you rely too heavily on external validation or sanctuary, you surrender your dignity. We must build homes that no one wishes to escape from.”

Reports had emerged earlier this week that the Trump administration was considering new immigration measures targeting foreign residents with criminal records or those suspected of national security risks, a move that has triggered widespread concern among immigrant communities.