FG blasts Canadian embassy for denying military chief visa

Abdullateef Fowewe

The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has strongly condemned the Canadian Embassy’s decision to deny a visa to the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa.

The controversy erupted when General Musa revealed that he and several senior military officers had been denied visas to attend an event in Canada intended to honour war veterans.

While some members of the Nigerian delegation were granted entry, a number of key officials was left stranded after their visa applications were rejected.

Musa expressed deep disappointment over the situation, describing the incident as a “wake-up call” for Nigeria.

Tunji-Ojo in an interview with the Channels Television on Friday, said the action by the Canadian embassy is condemnable and shows a lack of respect for Nigeria.

The Minister stressed that such a move reflects poorly on Canada’s diplomatic relationship with Nigeria and urged for a stronger response to safeguard national interests on the global stage.

He said, “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.”