Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka has expressed sorrow over the current state of affairs in the United States under Donald Trump’s leadership, describing it as one of the most disheartening developments he’s witnessed in recent times.
“It’s one of the saddest developing phenomena that I know of,” Soyinka said in a recent conversation with journalist Laura Collins-Hughes, published by the New York Times.
He added, “I just feel very, very sad that what’s happening in the States should be happening in such a potentially progressive country.”
Soyinka, who once lived in the US during a period of self-imposed exile, referred to the country as “MAGA land,” a reference to Trump’s campaign slogan, Make America Great Again. Now 90, the renowned writer said he finds the political climate increasingly distressing.
When asked whether he still feels safe visiting the United States, especially as some foreign governments — including Britain, Germany, and Canada — have warned their citizens about travelling to the US, Soyinka replied, “Oh, I’ve lived in a constant state of nonsafety.”
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“So I’m used to that. If I’m walking through the street and they pick me up, I have no problem whatsoever. You know, my laptop is where it is. It’s up in the clouds,” he said with a smile.
Trump’s return to power has seen him intensify crackdowns on irregular immigration and impose sweeping tariff hikes, including a 14% tariff on Nigerian exports to the US. The decision followed Nigeria’s ban on 25 US goods.
Soyinka has been a vocal critic of Trump from the beginning. In a 2016 interview with The INTERVIEW, he denounced Trump’s emergence, saying it signalled “trouble for humanity.”
At the time, he also declared he would destroy his US green card on the day of Trump’s inauguration — January 20, 2017.
“Come January 20, 2017; watch my WOLEXIT!” Soyinka said, alluding to his symbolic exit from the US, a play on the term “Brexit” used for the UK’s departure from the European Union.