Former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Kingsley Moghalu, has criticised an interview involving President Bola Tinubu’s media aide, Daniel Bwala on Al Jazeera’s programme, Head to Head.
Moghalu described Bwala’s interview as damaging to Nigeria,
Tinubu’s administration and a disaster to the country.
In a statement, Moghalu said the interview conducted by
journalist Mehdi Hasan was “a disaster of gargantuan proportions for Nigeria as
a country, for President Tinubu’s administration, and for Bwala himself.”
He added that among the three, Bwala’s personal reputation
was the least significant, noting that “Bwala’s track record speaks for
itself.”
According to Moghalu, the interview portrayed Nigeria poorly
on the global stage, given the international reach of the programme and the
presence of a live global audience.
“The interview made a spectacle of Nigeria, not just because
of the reach of the program globally, but also the format in which there was a
global audience in the room itself,” he said.
He questioned the impression the audience might have formed
about Nigeria after what he described as “such a fact-based shredding of the
country’s leadership and its performance.”
Moghalu said the episode reflected deeper issues within
Nigeria’s political culture, which he argued is driven largely by opportunism
and power struggles rather than ideology or clear policy direction.
“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 said.
The former CBN deputy governor also criticised the
government’s choice of spokespersons, suggesting that competence often takes a
back seat to loyalty in political appointments.
“Second, the fact that Bwala, given his record, is sent out
to speak for the President of Nigeria on the international stage says much
about the standards by which the government in Nigeria recruits people for
specific roles,” he said, adding that in such circumstances “loyalty”, however
temporary, appears to matter more than competence.
He further questioned the practice of appointing former
critics of the administration as government spokespersons or representatives
after they defect politically.
“Thirdly, why appoint former attack dogs of the political
opposition as spokespersons and Ambassadors for the administration simply
because they have ‘defected?” He asked.
According to him, such individuals often carry political
baggage that undermines their credibility in public-facing roles.
“Bwala was left trying to eat his words with bare-faced
lies!” He said.
Moghalu argued that there are more credible individuals who
could represent the Nigerian government, even amid criticisms of its
performance.
“I think there are people who could be far more credible
spokesmen and women for Nigeria’s government, even with all its
underperformance in governance,” he said.
Reflecting on reactions from the international community,
Moghalu said several friends from different countries had contacted him after
watching the interview.
“It was a sad day for our country. I’ve received several
calls from friends from various countries around the world. All were in shock
and felt sorry for our country to be put in such a spot,” he said.
He added that despite Nigeria’s challenges, many people
around the world still hope the country will eventually fulfil its potential.
“So many people are waiting and hoping for when Nigeria will
‘wake up’ and take its rightful place under the sun,” he said, adding that
Nigerians remain “brilliant, hardworking and respected all over the world,”
even as governance by political leaders continues to draw criticism.
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