Posted by Samuel on Fri 14th Feb, 2025 - tori.ng
Tunji-Ojo stated this on Sunrise Daily, a programme on Channels Television, on Friday, noting that the action by the Canadian embassy was condemnable and showed a lack of respect for Nigeria as a country.
Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the Minister of Interior, has stated it is disrespectful to Nigeria for Canada to deny a visa to Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa.
Tunji-Ojo stated this on Sunrise Daily, a programme on Channels Television, on Friday, noting that the action by the Canadian embassy was condemnable and showed a lack of respect for Nigeria as a country.
The minister wondered how an average Nigerian would be treated by the Canadian embassy if the Chief of Defence Staff was disrespected in that manner.
“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 and migration management is a sovereign issue.
“As much as we don’t want to dabble into that, it is not just 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.
General Musa, while speaking in Abuja at the maiden annual lecture of the National Association of the Institute for Security Studies, disclosed that the Canadian embassy denied him and some members of his team visas to attend an event to honor war veterans in Canada.