14th February 2025, NewsOrient, News, Law And Society, Governance And Development

Top government officials in Nigeria have expressed deep anger over Canada’s denial of visa to Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).

Amongst the top officials that have reacted publicly are Nigeria’s Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, and Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has condemned the Canadian Embassy’s denial of a visa to Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa.

General Musa disclosed on Thursday at the maiden annual lecture of the National Association of the Institute for Security Studies, that the Canadian embassy denied him and some members of his team visas to attend an event to honour war veterans in Canada.

Tunji-Ojo, who spoke as a guest on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday, said “the action by the Canadian embassy is condemnable and shows a lack of respect for Nigeria as a country.”

He questioned how an average Nigerian would be treated by the Canadian embassy if the Chief of Defence Staff were disrespected in that way.

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,” he said.

Another top official who publicly reacted to the visa denial is Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Ribadu described the decision as “disrespectful”, adding, “Canada “can go to hell.”

Ribadu said this on Thursday at the maiden annual lecture of the National Association of the Institute for Security Studies in Abuja, where the CDS Musa, disclosed that he and his delegation were actually invited to an event honouring war veterans in Canada but that some of them were denied visas by the Canadian embassy.

NewsOrient recalls that after narrating how he and some of his team members were denied visas by Canada, at the lecture, the CDS said the humiliation should be used as a pointer to Nigeria to “strengthen it’s sovereignty and reduce dependence on foreign nations.”

As he puts it: “This is a reminder that we must stand on our own, stand strong as a nation, and refuse to be taken for granted.”

~ NewsOrient

For News, Interviews, Special Events Coverage, Advertisements, Corporate Reports, etc., Contact:
Email: Newsorientng@gmail.com

Website: https://newsorientng.com
Phone: +2348023165410; +2348064041541