“I have had enough of it (America). I have disengaged from the United States. I have done what I said I would do.”
The 82 year old Nigerian, the only African that won Nobel prize for literature in 1986, Professor Wole Soyinka, who made this known, said that, announced that he had thrown away his American Green Card.
Soyinka, who had resided in the US for more than 20 years and is a regular teacher at prestigious universities such as Harvard, Cornell and Yale, took the action in apparent protest against the emergence of Donald Trump as American President-elect in the November 8 Presidential election.
Speaking to AFP news agency at a conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, the literary icon said: “I had a horror of what is to come with Trump… I threw away the card and I have relocated, and I’m back to where I have always been,” meaning Nigeria.
He said that he would not discourage anyone from applying for a green card but, for him, Trump’s presidency signalled it was the right moment to leave.
“It’s useful in many ways. I wouldn’t for one single moment discourage any Nigerians or anybody from acquiring a green card but I have had enough of it.”
Prior to the US election, Soyinka had vowed to throw away his green card – a permanent residence permit for the United States – and “start packing” should Mr Trump wins. [myad]
