Denying CDS Canadian visa is disrespectful to Nigeria – Interior minister

Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the minister of interior, has criticised the Canadian Embassy for denying a visa to General Christopher Musa, Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff.

Musa revealed the development on Thursday during the maiden annual lecture of the National Association of the Institute for Security Studies. He stated that he and some members of his team were denied visas to attend an event in Canada honouring war veterans.

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Reacting to the incident during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday, Tunji-Ojo described the embassy’s action as unacceptable and disrespectful to Nigeria.

“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,” he said.

The minister emphasised that the situation was not just a slight against Musa but a broader insult to Nigeria.

“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 added.

Tunji-Ojo expressed difficulty in understanding Canada’s justification for the decision. He noted that even if the embassy had concerns, diplomatic back channels could have been used to address them.

He assured that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would take necessary steps to address the issue and work towards ensuring mutual respect between both nations.