Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has slammed United States President, Donald Trump, over the mass revocation of visas and green cards.
Naijaonpoint reports that Soyinka, in an interview published by BBC News Pidgin via Facebook on Wednesday, described Trump as a dictator, stating that he had earlier predicted the visa revocation immediately after the President assumed office.
He said, “The first thing he will do is cancel even the green cards. This is a petty-minded dictator, you see how he deals with his objects of hate. We saw that dark side of the American side. There were more killings, extrajudicial killings by the police of black people, of minorities, during that build-up, during the campaign, and on account of hate rhetoric, the hate rhetoric of this individual.
“I saw it and I said, listen very carefully and you can go and check this I said, ‘When that man comes to power, the first thing he will do is cancel even the green cards’.”
Speaking further, the 91-year-old author and playwright, who had vowed never to reapply for a US visa, said he had since left the country because he would not allow himself to be deported.
According to Soyinka, it is more dignified to kick himself out, adding that he knew he would not be able to resist comments on the Trump administration.
He noted, “I said I’m not going to wait to be told to come for a reinterview or simply told, ‘Get out! The green card is cancelled!’ That’s all. People failed to understand. Even though I said it, people failed to accept it. I said I don’t like to be kicked out; I like to kick myself out, it’s more dignified.
“I knew I would not be able to resist making comments on what I knew would happen, and sure enough, he did not disappoint me.”
Soyinka’s comment comes amid diplomatic tension between Nigeria and the US after Trump recently designated Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern,” citing alleged Christian genocide in the country.
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