‘Saddest Phenomena I Know Of’, Soyinka Laments Happenings In US Under Trump

Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has expressed sadness over happenings in the United States under the leadership of President Donald Trump.

Soyinka, who had in 2016 threatened to tear his Green Card if Trump won election and became President, spoke on the latest developments in US, saying, “It’s one of the saddest developing phenomena that I know of.”

“I just feel very, very sad that what’s happening in the States should be happening in such a potentially progressive country,” the nonagenarian world-acclaimed writer said in a conversation with freelance arts journalist, Laura Collins-Hughes, published in the New York Times.

In a piece titled, “At 90, Wole Soyinka Revisits His Younger, More Optimistic Self,” Collins-Hughes quoted Soyinka as saying he felt distressed by recent events in the United States, where he once lived on self-imposed exile, tagging the country “MAGA land.”

When asked if he feels safe in the United States given the current political climate, where foreign governments like Britain, Germany, and Canada have warned their citizens about traveling to the US, Soyinka replied, “Oh, I’ve lived in a constant state of insecurity.”

“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 has launched a vigorous campaign against irregular immigrants in America while also slapping tariff hikes on trade partners across the globe, including Nigeria, where he imposed 14% on Nigerian exports to the US.
America cited Nigeria’s ban on 25 items from the US for its decision to impose a 14% tariff on Nigerian goods.

Also, in a conversation with The INTERVIEW in 2016, Soyinka expressed his discontent with Donald Trump’s rise to the presidency, stating that it signified trouble for humanity.

He then declared that he would tear up his green card on January 20, 2017, the day Trump was to be inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States..

Asked if he still intended to thrash his Green Card, he said, “Come January 20, 2017; watch my WOLEXIT!”

By WOLEXIT, he seemed to be referring to his final ‘exit’ from the US, playing on Brexit, the expression referring to Britain’s historical exit from the European Union (EU).