Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has condemned the Canadian Embassy’s refusal to grant a visa to Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa.
The controversy arose when Gen Musa revealed that both he and several senior military officers were denied visas to attend a Canadian event honouring war veterans. While some members of the delegation received their visas, others were left stranded after their applications were rejected.
Expressing his disappointment, Musa described the incident as a “wake-up call” for Nigeria to fortify its sovereignty and resist being undermined by foreign nations.
Tunji-Ojo, speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, condemned the Canadian Embassy’s actions as 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.
“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 struggled to find any justification for Canada’s actions, adding that even if questions were raised, diplomatic channels should have been used. He expressed confidence that Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs would take the necessary steps to address the issue and ensure that mutual respect is maintained between the two countries.