In his official capacity as the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala granted a series of interviews with reputable media platforms last Tuesday. In the interviews, he was asked several questions bordering on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic policies and the way forward for the average Nigerian. Among the TVs he granted interviews were Arise TV, News Central, and TVC.
The conversations were very heated. Bwala was faced with the question of integrity, as people were wondering what conviction he had to be serving in a government that he had vehemently challenged. Bwala is one of the typical Nigerian politicians suffering from loyalty and patriotism. A few months before the 2023 election, Daniel Bwala had renounced the APC based on Muslim-Muslim ticket.
Fantasied by his appointment as the PDP presidential campaign spokesperson in 2022, Bwala became the strongest critic of the APC before and after the announcement of President Tinubu as winner of the 2023 Presidential election. However, since President Tinubu assumed office, Bwala has kept the masses in utmost surprise as he started parading the villa and became an overnight ambassador for the new administration. Bwala’s (mis)calculated politics has left some impressions in the media who have been awaiting an opportunity to ask him a thousand questions.
Perhaps the best representation of what transpired between Daniel Bwala and the media during his media tour was the story of a man who was being pushed to the wall with no escape route. If you pursue a snake to a certain extent, it turns back to fight the enemy, as that is the only option left to it. Bwala is one of the outspoken Nigerian politicians reputable for his criticisms of the All Progressive Congress during the 2023 general elections. The spokesperson for the former presidential candidate of the PDP was left with no other option than to take the bull by the horns when asked about his integrity to serve under an administration he had vehemently criticized.
Bwala shamelessly admitted that he was criticizing the Tinubu administration because he was in the opposition. This was the least he could do, having been asked the same question multiple times. The presidential aide could not answer this question the first time he was asked in November last year by Seun Okinbaloye, the Channel’s TV anchor of Politics Today, on his integrity in serving under the Tinubu administration. He dodged the question put to him several times. However, having thought about it and realizing that he could not escape the question, Bwala shamelessly responded that “the role of the opposition is to oppose the government” and “deemphasize the strength of the (ruling) government” in favour of the opposition.
Going by Bwala’s conception of the “opposition”—criticizing the government’s strength for the mere fact that one is in the opposition party does not speak well of democracy. The role of the opposition in a well-meaning democracy is to criticize governmental policies and proffer solutions to salient matters that are sensitive to the well-being of the masses. The opposition, in a working democracy, deviates from pre-election vendetta and collaborates with the masses in critically examining the functions of the ruling government. However, Bwala’s engagements with the media reveal two other salient things. First, there is no altruistic politics in Nigeria. The second takeaway is about the functionality of the media.
An undeniable fact is that there seems to be a misalignment between the politicians and the journalists. The role of the politicians is to jostle for power to serve the “common good.” The media, on the other hand, are charged with disseminating information, creating awareness about governmental policies, and holding the government accountable. However, in the discharge of their respective functions, the self often plays a big role. Nigerian politicians, like every other politician, are concerned with self-interest. Their role is no longer to serve the common good but to hijack and remain in power.
The influence that comes with power explains why politicians view politics as a do-or-die affair. There is no iota of patriotism in the politician’s mind. He goes wherever his interest can be fulfilled and forces himself to embrace the ideology of such a party—as long as his interest is assured. I do not expect anyone to be surprised by Bwala’s actions. The former Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, Minister Wike, and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar are enough as precedents. Nigerian politics knows no morality.
The media, on the other hand, prefers to hold the politicians accountable more than disseminating information—its primary responsibility. In holding the media accountable, many journalists are influenced by their political affiliations, which should not have been. During TV interviews, much time is wasted on personal matters rather than asking important questions that affect the whole. Hence, the “wise” politicians usually hide under the lack of professionalism of some journalists to dodge questions. The arguments about disrespect to a guest’s personality may linger on for much of the time without respecting the intelligence of the audience. Journalists must maintain professionalism when interviewing (not interrogating) their guests.
AUTHOR: Abdulkabir Muhammed, a Public Affairs Analyst, writes from Lagos
Articles published in our Graffiti section are strictly the opinion of the writers and do not represent the views of Ripples Nigeria or its editorial stand.
