The federal government has insisted that it was wrong for Canada to deny entry visa to Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, Gen Christopher Musa and other top military brass.
The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji -Ojo while speaking on Channels Television on Friday said it was wrong and ‘disrespectful for the North American country to do so.
The magazine reports that Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser, NSA, had berated the government of Canada for denying the General and his cohorts in the military visa to enter Canada. Ribadu slammed Canada to “go to hell’ for treating Nigeria’s highest military officer, so shabbily.
Ribadu spoke on Thursday at the maiden annual lecture of the National Association of the Institute for Security Studies in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
The NSA’s remark has however generated mixed reactions from those that said his comment was unsavory and others who backed him up, saying Canada should have handled the issue differently.
The treatment meted to the CDS was the height of disrespect to a sovereign nation like Nigeria, according to not a few Nigerians who spoke on the issue.
Reacting, the minister double down on what Ribadu said that the action of the Canadian government was a disrespect to Nigeria, saying what they did contradict the policy of diplomatic reciprocity.
He said if the CDS could be treated in a such a humiliating manner, what happens to ordinary Nigerians?
The Minister said it’s difficult to still fathom why the Canadian Embassy took the action.
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.”
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