Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka is considering reapplying for a United States permanent residency, also known as a green card, following the conviction of former President Donald Trump.
Gatekeepers News reports that Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records, making him the first former US president to be convicted of a felony.
Soyinka, a vocal critic of Trump, had previously destroyed his own green card in 2016 after Trump’s election win.
However, in a statement on Saturday, Soyinka expressed hope in a “new democratic promise” for Africans, suggesting that Trump’s conviction may have changed his stance on residing in the US.
“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 statement reads.
“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.
“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.”
