Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka has said that he has fulfilled his promise to “cut” his green card (permanent resident’s card in the U.S.) and “start packing up” if the then, Republican Candidate, Donald Trump wins the election.
Soyinka in an interview with The Atlantic on Tuesday, said that he had made his green card “inoperable”.
“I don’t have strong enough fingers to tear up a green card. As long as Trump is in charge, if I absolutely have to visit the United States, I prefer to go in the queue for a regular visa with others. I’m no longer part of the society, not even as a resident,” Soyinka said.
“I delivered myself from uncertainty, from discomfort, from internal turmoil,” the veteran writer said.
He had said, after Trump emerged winner in November 2016, that he was bidding his time until Trump is inaugurated.
“Why don’t we wait until Trump actually takes office? I’m just going about my normal commitments, but definitely not getting into any more commitments. Let’s put it that way for now,” Soyinka had said.
He also announced in December that he “threw away” the card.
Soyinka recently told The Interview magazine that “Trump’s wall is already under construction.” “Walls are built in the mind, and Trump has erected walls, not only across the mental landscape of America, but across the global landscape,” Soyinka had said.
Soyinka said his decision is a “personal” and “private” one, and “no one else is invited”.