Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, has dismissed criticism that trailed his appearance on Al Jazeera’s Head to Head programme.
He said he had no regrets defending the Tinubu administration before host Mehdi Hassan and would do so again anywhere in the world.
The interview, which aired on Thursday on Al Jazeera’s Head to Head, sparked an immediate backlash on social media, particularly on X, where clips went viral, and critics described Bwala’s outing as an embarrassment.
Hassan repeatedly confronted Bwala with his own past statements in which he had called President Tinubu a drug baron, corrupt, and unfit to lead, remarks Bwala made before his 2023 defection from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.
When Bwala denied making some of the statements, Hassan produced video evidence, triggering fresh ridicule online.
Hassan also pressed him on Nigeria’s deteriorating security situation, citing reports from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, with critics saying Bwala appeared unable to counter the figures with data of his own.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Bwala said the backlash from what he described as opposition sympathisers was predictable and short-lived, and would not distract him from his duties as Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Policy Communication.
“The majority of the naysayers are members of the opposition and their sympathisers. It does not bother me one bit. Their temporary excitement over the interview has not lasted and will not last, because it does not take away their obvious problem of lack of vision and mission in conducting and managing a political party.”
He was also dismissive of suggestions that his performance on the program had been inadequate.
He said, “Selling ice cream, looking fine, and seeking the praises of men were never part of” his job description, he said, adding that promoting and defending the President and his administration was what he did “with ease and joy.”
Bwala said Head to Head approached him nearly six months ago, requesting an interview to challenge the government on security, the economy, and corruption, but never indicated it intended to probe his personal past.
“Nowhere in our almost six months of communication did they mention that they were going to challenge my past. If that had been their plan, ethically and professionally, they were supposed to inform me so I could prepare my response. But that’s okay, ethically, that is on them, not on me.”
“I am glad those were things I said when I was in the opposition saddle with such zeal. It is all politics.
“Half of Donald Trump’s cabinet is made up of people who once spoke against him, and quite a number of people in our own cabinet also spoke against President Tinubu in the past. Those things do not bother him if you care to know.”
On the opposition, Bwala was cutting. “They have no path to victory and no alternative policies or programme for the Nigerian people.
“And if they say they do, they can as well go to Head to Head and be interrogated on that.”
Bwala said he was prepared to face any interviewer on the administration’s record.
“I have never, and will never, subscribe to ducking or dodging interviews on matters that concern promoting and defending the administration I was appointed to serve,” he said. “It is the least of what is required of me.”
He said he looked forward to a second round on the programme, adding that questions about his past would by then no longer be newsworthy, allowing the conversation to focus on the administration’s policy record and achievements.
“I am glad that by then questions about my past will no longer be news so that we can focus on our administration’s policies, programs and what we have achieved so far,” he said.
Despite his complaints about the interview’s conduct, Bwala described Hassan as “arguably the best debater on the planet” and said he retained admiration and respect for him.
He also thanked “the many Nigerians and non-Nigerians” who commended what he called his brave defence of the government in an interview where, he said, the anchor “would hardly let you answer a question unless it suited his narrative.”
