Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the interior minister, has denounced the Canadian Embassy’s decision to refuse General Christopher Musa, the chief of defense staff of Nigeria, a visa.
The denial was reportedly made public by General Musa at the National Association of the Institute for Security Studies’ first annual lecture in Abuja.
In order to attend a veterans’ event in Canada, he and his crew were denied visas, he said.
Speaking on Friday’s Sunrise Daily on Channels Television, Tunji-Ojo denounced the embassy’s actions as a betrayal of Nigeria’s sovereignty.
“Without knowing the whole facts, I think even for us it is a policy,” he said. “As I always say, the issue of reciprocity has to be given due consideration.” Even while we are not prepared to intrude on another country’s sovereignty, the matter of visas and migratory control is a sovereign one.
Even if we don’t want to get involved in that, I believe that it is insulting to the nation and to us as a people, even though it is not disrespectful to the chief of defense staff. I worry about the typical Nigerian if that is possible for the chief of defense staff.
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While acknowledging that there are diplomatic back channels through which the embassy could have asked the inquiries, the Minister stated that he is having difficulty finding a rationale for Canada’s move.
According to him, he has faith that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would take the required actions to settle the dispute amicably and guarantee that the two countries respect one another.
