Canada denies entry to army chiefs from African state
Nigeria's defense chief, General Christopher Musa, has said the Canadian Embassy in the West African country has denied him and other senior military officers visas to attend a sports event for war veterans in Vancouver.
The week-long Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025, organized by the foundation headed by the UK's Prince Harry, commenced on February 8 and is scheduled to end on Saturday.
Gen. Musa made the announcement on Thursday during a lecture at the National Association of the Institute for Security Studies in Abuja, Nigeria's capital.
'Remember last year the Duke of Sussex and his wife visited Nigeria. Through the Invictus… they try to raise the morale of troops all over the world that have suffered one form of deformity or the other in the course of defending their individual countries,'
he said.
'We were supposed to be there. Actually, half of my team has already gone, but unfortunately, the Canadian embassy, for reasons best known to them, denied us visas,'
the army chief added.
READ MORE:
Nigeria bans government-funded travel abroad for officials
Gen. Musa said that while the denial of entry into Canada is
'very disappointing,'
it serves as a reminder for Nigerians to
'stand strong as a nation and refuse to be taken for granted.'
Abuja's national security adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, slammed the Canadian government for the visa snub, declaring that
'they can go to hell.'
'Even though it's painful and disrespectful, we are peaceful, we are strong, and I agree with you – it is time to fix our country. This is yet another reason we must work hard to make Nigeria work,'
Ribadu said, addressing the same security gathering in Abuja on Thursday.
READ MORE:
The real Lion King: Who was the founder of the richest African empire?
The Canadian Embassy has yet to comment on the claims.
The incident comes at a time when Canada is tightening its immigration rules and the Nigerian government itself is implementing measures to reduce spending on overseas trips for officials.
Last year, Bola Tinubu, president of Africa's most populous country, temporarily suspended all publicly funded international travels for members of his government and said only trips that are
'deemed absolutely necessary'
will be approved.
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