FLASHBACK: In 2016, Soyinka destroyed his US green card after Trump’s victory

In 2016, Wole Soyinka, the Nobel laureate, confirmed that hehas rendered his US green card “inoperable” following Donald Trump’s victory inthe 2016 presidential election. On November 2, 2016, speaking at Oxford University’s ErtegunHouse, Soyinka said if Trump won, he would initiate a “Wolexit” by destroyinghis green card and severing his ties as a US resident. “The moment they announce his victory, I will cut my greencard myself and start packing up,” the Nobel laureate had said. Soyinka obtained the green card during a politicalsabbatical at Emory University in the 1990s with assistance from the late USPresident Jimmy Carter. Speaking at a conference in South Africa in 2016, theinternationally acclaimed playwright and poet said he had thrown away the greencard and returned to where he had always been. “I have already done it; I have disengaged (from the UnitedStates). I have done what I said I would do,” Soyinka had said. “I had a horror of what is to come with Trump... I threw awaythe (green) card, and I have relocated, and I’m back to where I have alwaysbeen. “As long as Trump is in charge, if I absolutely have tovisit the United States, I prefer to go in the queue for a regular visa withothers.” He described his “Wolexit” as a protest against Trump’s“xenophobic rhetoric targeting Blacks, Hispanics, and Muslims” during thepresidential election campaign. A lawful permanent resident like Soyinka (green card holder)can voluntarily abandon or relinquish their US residency. This is typically done by filing Form I-407, “Record ofAbandonment of Lawful Permanent Resident Status,” with the US Citizenship andImmigration Services (USCIS) or at a US consulate abroad. Informally, a person may stop residing in the US anddemonstrate an intention to abandon residency, which can lead to loss ofpermanent resident status. The US government has recently revoked Soyinka’snon-immigrant visa. In a letter dated October 23 from the Americanconsulate-general in Lagos, the US government instructed the Nobel laureate topresent his passport for visa cancellation, citing “additional information”obtained after issuance. Soyinka, who said he was not informed of any specificoffence linked to the revocation, noted that he had applied for the visa afterhe received a letter from the US Internal Revenue Service about an audit fortax returns. The renowned playwright explained that his trip was toresolve the tax issues, adding that he wanted to prevent a situation where theUS might advertise him as a “tax dodger” to the world.

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