Canada disrespected Nigeria, its people by denying CDS visa – Interior Minister

By John Ogunsemore

The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has chided the High Commission of Canada in Nigeria for refusing to issue a visa to Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa.

Tunji-Ojo spoke as a guest on a Channels TV programme on Friday.

At a public function in Abuja on Thursday, CDS Musa disclosed that the Canadian embassy denied him and about half of his contingent visas to attend an event to honour war veterans in Canada.

Reacting to the revelation, Tunji-Ojo said the Canadian embassy disrespected Nigeria and its people by denying the CDS visa.

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.”

The minister said the Canadian embassy should have explored diplomatic back channels if it needed clarifications about the CDS’ visa application.

He expressed confidence that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would response appropriately to ensure the issue is resolved while fostering mutual respect between both nations.