Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, has criticised Al Jazeera following a heated interview on the programme Head to Head, accusing the international broadcaster of engaging in what he described as “opposition-style journalism.”
Bwala appeared on the show hosted by Mehdi Hasan, where the discussion centred on the performance of Tinubu’s administration under the theme “Nigeria: ‘Renewed Hope’ or ‘Hopelessness’?”
During the interview, the host presented past video clips, quotes, and statements Bwala made while he was in the opposition camp and aligned with former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.
The exchange quickly gained attention online, prompting Bwala to issue a statement addressing the controversy.
In the statement, he maintained that he remains willing to defend the current 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.”
According to him, the programme team initially reached out requesting an interview that would challenge the Tinubu government on issues such as security, corruption, and the economy.
However, he expressed dissatisfaction that the interview focused on his past criticisms of Tinubu rather than the issues earlier discussed.
“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 Mehdi Hasan’s approach during the conversation.
“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.”
Bwala also addressed criticism about his past remarks regarding President Tinubu, saying his previous statements were made during his time 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 pointed to examples in global politics to justify his position.
“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.”
He further dismissed the reactions from critics, describing them as temporary excitement from opposition figures.
“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.”
Bwala concluded by challenging opposition groups to present their own policies and face similar scrutiny.
“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’.”
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