By Enyichukwu Enemanna
The Canadian High Commission in Nigeria has finally reacted to reports that it denied Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, and other senior military officers visas, but declined to speak on the status of the visa applications.
“The High Commission of Canada in Nigeria is aware of media reports related to planned travel to Canada by senior officials.
“However, for privacy reasons, we are unable to provide any comment on the status of visa applications of specific individuals,” the High Commission said in a post on Friday on X, formerly known as Twitter.
At a function in Abuja on Thursday, Musa disclosed that he and other senior military officers were denied visas to Canada.
The Defence Chief was scheduled to attend a war veterans’ event in Canada but could not do so after the embassy denied him a visa, he disclosed.
“Every disappointment is a blessing,” he said while speaking on the incident. “Yesterday, I was meant to be in Canada. There’s an event to honour our veterans, those that were injured during battles, and we were meant to be there.
“We were invited with our team. Half has gone, and half has been denied. It’s very disappointing,” he added.
A local newspaper has, however, disclosed that Musa and other officers were denied visas as a result of a diplomatic error contained in their applications.
The errors were made by the desk officer who filed the visa applications, the newspaper reported, quoting a Nigerian government source.
The government has begun working with the embassy to resolve the issue, the newspaper report added.
“There was no Note Verbale from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, contrary to the existing protocol for any trip by high-ranking government officials,” the newspaper quoted the source as saying.
The alleged denial of visas to the top military officer and others has, however, sparked condemnation, especially from the Nigerian government, with the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, daring Canadian authorities to “go to hell”.
“Thank you for the courage to say Canada denied you visas. They can go to hell,” the NSA said.
Nigeria’s Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, while also reacting to the development, said denying the visa of a high-ranking official is disrespectful to the entire country.
