Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, has criticised Al Jazeera following his appearance on the programme Head to Head, accusing the international broadcaster of conducting what he described as “opposition-style journalism.” Bwala was interviewed by Mehdi Hasan on the show, which examined the performance of Tinubu’s administration under the theme “Nigeria: ‘Renewed Hope’ or ‘Hopelessness’?” During the discussion, Hasan confronted him with old video clips and statements he made while he was in the opposition camp and supporting former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar. The interview quickly went viral on social media, prompting Bwala to respond with a statement defending his position. He insisted that he remains ready to defend the Tinubu administration anywhere in the world. “I remain prepared to appear before any interviewer, anywhere in the world, any day and at any time, to defend this government and its policies.” Bwala explained that the producers of Head to Head initially approached him to discuss issues affecting the country, including security, corruption and the economy. According to him, the focus later shifted unexpectedly to his past criticisms of Tinubu. “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.” He added that he rejected what he described as the host’s approach during the interview. “But that’s okay, ethically, that is on them, not on me. I refused to swallow the pill of Mehdi’s ‘opposition research-style journalism,’ and even today, if you carefully compare what he read as quotes from organisations and groups, you will see that many were inaccurate and some were outright fake news.” Addressing questions about his previous remarks about Tinubu, Bwala said those comments were made when he was in opposition politics. “But I will leave that for another day. As for what I said about President Tinubu in the past, I am glad those were things I said when I was in the opposition saddle with such zeal. It is all politics.” He also referenced political developments in the United States to make his point. “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.” Bwala dismissed the reactions to the interview, describing them as temporary excitement from opposition supporters. “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, mission in conducting and managing a political party; yet they seek to manage Nigeria.” He concluded by challenging opposition parties to present their ideas and face similar questioning. “Clearly they have no path to victory and no alternative policies or program for the Nigerian people. And if they say they do, they can as well go to head to head and be interrogated on that; as the saying in Hausa goes ‘Ga fili Ga doki’.”
