The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, has debunked claims that Nigeria sent a large contingent of athletes and officials to represent her at the Invictus Games in Vancouver, Canada.
Speaking in Abuja while playing host to the victorious athletes, General Musa who was denied visa to the games alongside other top officers, insisted that Nigeria deserves to be treated with respect as he explained that the military was invited, and all necessary protocols were followed.
He added that the application process involved key government officials, including Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Security Adviser.
Expressing his disappointment, General Musa revealed that key members of the Nigerian team, including the team captain, medical doctor, and physiotherapist, were denied visas for reasons best known to the Canadian Embassy.
General Musa, however, commended the Nigerian participants at the Invictus Games, praising their courage and resilience.
General Musa had last Thursday 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 honour war veterans in Canada.
Following the CDS disclosure, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu had berated Canada for denying General Musa and other army chiefs visas.
Ribadu described it disrespectful and said that Canada “can go to hell.”
“Thank you for the courage to say Canada denied you visas. They can go to hell,” Ribadu said.
“Even though it’s painful, it’s disrespectful, but we are peaceful and strong and I agree with you that it is time to fix our country. Yet, this is another reason we work hard to make Nigeria work,” he added.
The NSA also commended Musa for providing “purposeful leadership” in the war against insecurity.
He noted that all security agencies are collaborating across many parts of the country.
