Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has strongly criticised the Canadian Embassy for denying visa to Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa.
General Musa revealed on Thursday, during the maiden annual lecture of the National Association of the Institute for Security Studies, that he and some members of his team were refused visas to attend an event in Canada honouring war veterans.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday, Tunji-Ojo condemned the embassy’s decision, calling it disrespectful to Nigeria as a nation. He questioned how ordinary Nigerians would be treated if even the country’s top military officer faced such treatment.
“Without knowing the full facts, I think even for us it is a policy, the issue of reciprocity as I always say, has to be given due consideration. As much as we are not ready to dabble into the sovereignty of other nations, the issue of visas, issue of migration management is a sovereign issue.
“As much as we don’t want to dabble into that, it is not a disrespect to the chief of defence staff, to me, without knowing the facts, it is disrespectful to the country, and it is disrespectful to us as a people. If that can happen to the chief of defence staff, then I am worried for an average Nigerian,” he stated.
The minister expressed difficulty in justifying Canada’s decision, emphasising that any concerns the embassy had could have been addressed through diplomatic channels. He assured that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would take necessary steps to resolve the issue and uphold mutual respect between the two nations.
Meanwhile, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, earlier condemned Canada’s actions, voicing his frustration at the same event where General Musa shared his experience.
Ribadu said Canada could “go to hell,” adding that this is another reason Nigerian leaders must make the country better.
