Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has announced that he may reapply for the restoration of his US permanent residency following the conviction of former US President Donald Trump. On Thursday, Trump was convicted on all 34 charges of falsifying business records to conceal a payment meant to silence porn star Stormy Daniels.
In 2016, Soyinka vowed to destroy his US green card if Trump won the election, and he followed through on this promise after Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton. Following Trump’s unsuccessful reelection bid in 2020 and his recent legal troubles, Soyinka is reconsidering his decision.
In a statement on Thursday, reacting to Trump’s conviction, Soyinka said, “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.”
Soyinka described the verdict on Trump as a “daybreak on a new democratic promise,” viewing it as a “clear warning” that the “clamour for equity breaks down the stoutest gates on guard across the citadel of impunity.” He added, “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.”
Soyinka further remarked that Trump’s situation serves as a challenge and a call for preparedness and steadfastness against various forms of fascism. “It is ‘Not yet Uhuru,’ not anywhere close for humanity in our global village. Nonetheless, a celebration, albeit in a minor key, is justified,” he concluded.
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