Senator Ali Ndume Has Responded To Reports That The Canadian Embassy Denied Visas To Chief Of Defence Staff General Christopher Musa And Other Senior Military Officials. Last Week, General Musa Disclosed That While Some In His Group Received Visas To Attend A Canadian Event Honoring War Veterans, His Application And Several Others Were Rejected, Leaving Them Stranded.
The Decision Sparked Controversy: National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu Harshly Criticized The Embassy, While Former National Human Rights Commission Chairman Chidi Odinkalu Condemned Both The Military Leadership And Ribadu, Noting That Musa’s Delegation Included 70 Visa Applicants.
Reacting To The Report, Ndume Who Was A Guest On Channels TV On Sunday Night, February 16, Said The Refusal Was Indeed Disrespectful But That Nigerians Should Also Learn To Respect Themselves.
‘’There Is No Doubt That That Is A Kind Of Disrespect To Nigeria But You Have To Respect Yourself First. I Can’t Imagine It. How Can The CDS Of Nigeria, A Country That Is Known And Most Populous And Ranked Top And We Have Been Contributing To International Engagement, Be Denied Visa, What They Wanted To Do Was To Go And Attend An Event. I Can Understand Why The NSA Was Very Angry But For Me, Like I Said, Let’s Be Nigerians. I Don’t Go Anywhere And I Am A Senator For The Past 20 Years. I Don’t Need To Go Anywhere. Nigeria Is My Country. We Have Everything. We Don’t Need To Embarrass Ourselves.”
