Nigeria, Feb. 20 -- Many Nigerians experience visa refusal daily. They don't need the National Security Adviser, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, to invoke hell against any country to make the point.

Unfortunately, Ribadu's fury after the Canadian High Commission refused visas to Chief of Defence Staff General Christopher Musa and other officials for the winter Invictus Games in Vancouver Whistler was directed at an unlikely target. Canada can be criticised for many things, but Ottawa's faults do not include consular meanness.

In the last five years, Canada has been the third-biggest destination for Nigerian immigrants, especially students, after the US and the UK. Multiple sources, including reports by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (...