Bwala: What I said in the past about Tinubu was when I was in the opposition, it’s all politics

In the last 24 hours social media has exploded due to my interview with Mehdi Hassan, albeit with different opinions. I would like to set the record straight.

When I accepted the privileged position granted to me by Mr. President, I was well aware of its implications. Selling ice cream, looking good and seeking the praise of men were never part of it. Some of the fiercest critics in my interview can’t even stand local TV hosts. But the job of promoting and defending the President and his administration is one I do with ease and joy. I am ready to appear before any interviewer, anywhere in the world, at any day and at any time, to defend this government and its policies.

I have never agreed, and never will, to duck or dodge interviews on matters involving the promotion and defense of the administration for which I was appointed. It’s the last of what is required of me.

Head to Head contacted me requesting an interview, saying they wanted to challenge our government on security, the economy and corruption. Nowhere in our nearly six months of communication did they mention that they would challenge my past. If this had been their plan, ethically and professionally, they should have informed me so I could prepare my response. But that’s fine, ethically, it’s up to them, not me.

I refused to swallow the pill of Mehdi’s “research-style opposition journalism”, and even today, if you carefully compare what he read as quotes from organizations and groups, you will see that many were inaccurate and some were outright fake news. But I’ll leave that for another day.

As for what I said in the past about President Tinubu, I am happy that those were the things I said when I was riding the opposition with such zeal. It’s all politics. Half of Donald Trump’s cabinet is made up of people who have spoken out against him in the past, and a good number of people in our cabinet have spoken out against President Tinubu in the past as well. These things don’t bother him, if you ask me.

Most of the opponents are members of the opposition and their sympathizers. It doesn’t bother me at all. Their temporary excitement over the interview did not and will not last, because it does not eliminate their obvious problem of lack of vision and mission in leading and managing a political party; yet they try to manage Nigeria. They clearly have no path to victory and no alternative policy or program for the Nigerian people. And if they say yes, they can even go into direct confrontation and be questioned about it; as the Hausa proverb says “Ga fili Ga doki”

I conclude by thanking the many Nigerians and non-Nigerians who sent their praise for my courageous defense of our government in an interview where the host was unlikely to let you answer a question unless it suited his narrative.

I still have admiration and respect for Mehdi Hassan as probably the best speaker on the planet. I look forward to the second part of the Head to Head interview and am happy that by then questions about my past will no longer be new, so we can focus on our administration’s policies, programs and what we have achieved so far.

Stay tuned.

*DHBwala
Special Advisor to the President for Media and Political Communication
(State House)