Bwala has embarrassed Nigeria on international stage, says Moghalu over Al Jazeera interview with Mehdi Hasan
By Ishaya Ibrahim
Former Central Bank of Nigeria deputy governor, Kingsley Moghalu, has described the interview given by President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Policy Communications, Daniel Bwala, as a “disaster of gargantuan proportions” for the country, the administration, and Bwala himself.
In a strongly worded statement shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday, March 8, 2026, Moghalu said Bwala’s appearance on Al Jazeera’s Head to Head program, hosted by journalist Mehdi Hasan embarrassed Nigeria on a global stage, given the program’s international reach and the live audience present.
He highlighted how Hasan confronted Bwala with past statements made when Bwala was a critic of Tinubu during the 2023 election cycle leading to what Moghalu called “bare-faced lies” as Bwala attempted to disavow or reframe them.
“The interview made a spectacle of Nigeria,” Moghalu wrote. “It was a sad commentary on Nigeria’s political culture in which there are no beliefs, no policies, no ideology, just crass opportunism and the battle for political power. Turn-coatism is ‘it’.”
He criticized the administration’s decision to appoint individuals like Bwala, former opposition figures who had launched “incendiary and personalized attacks” on Tinubu to key representational roles simply due to their defection.
Moghalu contended that such appointments prioritize fleeting loyalty over competence, allowing mediocrity to prevail and undermining credibility when defending the government internationally.
“Competence doesn’t count. Mediocrity reigns,” he stated.
Moghalu noted receiving calls from international contacts expressing shock and sympathy for Nigeria after the interview. He contrasted the perception of the country’s political leadership with the global respect earned by Nigerian citizens, whom he described as “brilliant, hardworking and respected all over the world, breaking barriers and achieving feats in various spheres.”
“The government and incompetent governance of Nigeria by its politicians remains a sorry tale,” he concluded, expressing hope that Nigeria would one day “wake up” and claim its “rightful place under the sun.”
Bwala, however later defended his performance and accused Hasan of using “opposition-style tactics.”
