The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has criticized the Canadian Embassy for denying a 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 denied visas to attend an event in Canada honoring war veterans.
Speaking as a guest on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday, Tunji-Ojo condemned the embassy’s actions, describing them as disrespectful to Nigeria as a nation.
The minister also questioned how ordinary Nigerians could expect to be treated by the Canadian Embassy if such disregard was shown to the Chief of Defence Staff.
“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,” Tunji-Ojo said.
The Minister expressed difficulty in understanding Canada’s actions, stating that even if the embassy had concerns, there were diplomatic channels available to address them appropriately.
He added that he is confident the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will take the necessary steps to resolve the matter diplomatically and foster mutual respect between the two nations.
‘Canada can go to hell’
Meanwhile, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu has berated Canada for denying General Musa and other army chiefs visas.
Speaking at the same event where the CDS narrated how he and other top military officers were denied visas, Ribadu also described it a disrespectful and said that Canada “can go to hell.”
“Thank you for the courage to say Canada denied you visas. They can go to hell,” Ribadu said.
“Even though it’s painful, it’s disrespectful, but we are peaceful and strong and I agree with you that it is time to fix our country. Yet, this is another reason we work hard to make Nigeria work.”
The NSA also commended Musa for providing “purposeful leadership” in the war against insecurity. He noted that all security agencies are collaborating across many parts of the country.