LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)-Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka mentioned yesterday that he might consider reapplying for his American Green Card, which he destroyed in protest against Donald Trump’s election as president.
He made this announcement following Trump’s conviction in New York on Thursday on all 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Soyinka publicly expressed his disapproval of Trump’s inauguration as the 45th U.S. President on January 20, 2017, by destroying his Green Card, which allows permanent residence and work in the United States.
In response to Trump’s conviction, Soyinka clarified that before people started asking, he might consider reapplying for his Green Card.
“Seeing that this trite, personal gesture attracted such inordinate attention at the time, let me answer the question before it is asked: Yes, I may choose to apply for restoration of my card of Permanent Residence, known as the Green Card. Possibly,” he said.
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He described Trump’s conviction as “daybreak on a new democratic promise” for millions in troubled parts of the world, especially across the African continent.
He stated that the warning is clear: sooner or later, the demand for equity will break down the strongest barriers protecting impunity.
He said: “For millions in anguished parts of the world, certainly for us in vast swathes of the African continent, this is daybreak on a new democratic promise.
“The warning is clear. Sooner or later, the clamour of equity breaks down the stoutest gates on guard across the citadel of impunity.
“The Trump debacle is a challenge also, a call to preparedness and steadfastness. Installed and putative fascisms – secular, military or theocratic – will extract from this only the wrong lessons, batten down and ‘crack down’ in self-protection.
“It is “Not yet Uhuru”, not anywhere close for humanity in our global village. Nonetheless, a celebration, albeit in a minor key, is justified”