Nobel laureate Professor Wole Soyinka has described former United States President Donald Trump as a petty-minded dictator, following the mass revocation of visas and green cards under his administration.
Soyinka made this known during an interview with BBC News Pidgin on Facebook on Wednesday, where he reacted to the recent revocation of his own US visa.
The renowned playwright and author said he was not surprised by Trump’s actions, explaining that he had foreseen such measures long before they happened. According to Soyinka, Trump’s leadership style reflected deep intolerance and hostility toward those he considered enemies or undesirables.
“This is a petty-minded dictator, you see how he deals with his objects of hate,” Soyinka said, referring to Trump’s pattern of targeting groups he disliked. He noted that the darker side of America became more visible during Trump’s tenure, marked by increased incidents of police brutality and extrajudicial killings of black people and minorities.
Soyinka further stated that such violence was fuelled by Trump’s hateful and divisive rhetoric during his campaign and presidency. He recalled that he had previously warned that Trump’s rise to power would lead to harsh policies against immigrants, including the withdrawal of valid green cards.
“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,’” Soyinka stressed, reaffirming that he had anticipated the discriminatory moves long before they unfolded.
