The United States Consulate has revoked the visa of celebrated Nigeria’s Nobel laureate and playwright, Professor Wole Soyinka, effectively barring him from entering the country.

This is coming a month after the renowned writer declined an invitation by the U.S. Consulate in Nigeria for a visa reinterview.

Speaking at a media briefing at Kongi’s Harvest Gallery, Freedom Park, Lagos Island, Nigeria, on Tuesday, Soyinka said he was unaware of any action that could have prompted the visa revocation.

Soyinka disclosed that the US Consulate in Lagos formally communicated the visa revocation through an official letter.

Soyinka’s visa was classified as B1/B2, a temporary, non-immigrant visa for business or tourism. In July, the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria announced that Nigerians seeking non-immigrant visas would now receive single-entry, three-month permits, replacing the previous up-to-five-year multiple-entry visas.

“It is necessary for me to hold this conference so that people in the United States who are expecting me for this event or that event do not waste their time. I have no visa; I am banned, obviously, from the United States” He said

The Nobel Laureate Professor likened the visa revocation to “Idi Amin in Whiteface,” referencing the Ugandan dictator to underscore his view of the action as arbitrary and authoritarian.

He reaffirmed his commitment to advocating for human rights and political freedoms, regardless of his visa status.

Soyinka confirmed again that he will not reapply for a U.S. visa, adding, “If individuals wish to see me, they know where to find me.”