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Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, says he is not yet ready to publicly assess the administration of President Bola Tinubu, citing repeated misrepresentation of his comments.
In an interview with BBC News Yoruba published on Facebook on Tuesday, the world- renowned writer and activist said he was still taking his time and would express his perception of the Tinubu government when he deems it appropriate.
“I have been asked that question by several people,” Soyinka, speaking in Yoruba language, told his interviewer. “I don’t want to answer because it seems as if there’s nothing one says that won’t be twisted, and I’m tired of that.”
“So, I want to take my time. When it’s time, I will write my view on that,” he said.
An influential public figure and opinion moulder, Soyinka is known for his criticism of successive Nigerian governments, including the administrations of former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Jonathan and the late Muhammadu Buhari.
He has, however, yet to publicly voice his assessement of the Tinubu’s government, over two years into the administration.
In 2019, Soyinka took a swipe at Buhari’s government, saying it had failed Nigerians in its handling of the country’s security challenges.
In 2021, he also told Kaftan TV, “I don’t want to talk about Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. I think it is best for my sanity just to avoid that overall question. I can take bits and pieces of Nigeria’s present predicament, but I think for one’s sense of balance, one must forget the existence of the Buhari administration.”
The Nobel laureate, who has also been in the news recently over the revocation of his US visa, also told BBC Yoruba that he had no intention of reapplying, despite being asked to do so by the US Consulate in Lagos.
He said, “If you read the letter sent to me by the embassy, they wrote that I should bring my passport for them to stamp it so it shows that it has been cancelled. They are jokers. I should take my passport to those who revoked my visa? I told them they should come to my house, take the passport themselves, and stamp it. So, I cannot say I’ll be applying again or sitting down to fill out any form, whether online or having to go there — no.
“But if they want — because I’m not fighting the American people, no — if in the future they realise that they made a mistake and ask me to come and take my visa back, I will say they should bring it to my house. And before you come to my house, you will need a visa to enter.”
Soyinka, during a media parley last Tuesday in Lagos, announced the revocation of his B1/B2 visa by the US Embassy.
“It is necessary for me to hold this press 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,” the 91-year-old told journalists at Kongi’s Harvest Art Gallery, Freedom Park, Lagos Island.
Soyinka, who has been a vocal critic of US President Donald Trump, said he did not know the reason for the revocation of his visa.
However, the US Consulate in Lagos clarified last Thursday in response to an inquiry from The PUNCH that visas granted by the country are a privilege, not a right.
“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,” the U.S. Mission in Nigeria stated.
