OPINION: “When Yesterday Words Return With Hurt” – By Kunle Rasheed (VIDEO).

Mr. Bwala & Mr. President.

For about a week now, I have been in Swindon, a big town in Wiltshire in the South West of England, where I’ve been observing a well-deserved holiday after fighting two major battles simultaneously late last year. These battles include ill health and law first semester examination,which eventually rolled into the new year. I had told myself that I would not bother with any issue concerning Nigeria or its politics till the end of my holiday. My plan was just to eat, sleep, and exercise if I could. I even decided not to read anything for three good weeks in order to be fully rested physically and mentally.

However, while still holding tightly to that decision, I stumbled upon the programme Head to Head on Al Jazeera, hosted by the brilliant Mehdi Hasan. The programme featured Daniel Bwala, a Nigerian lawyer and the current Special Adviser on Media and Public Communications to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

As soon as the programme ended, I instantly knew that it would become a raging topic in Nigeria because of what transpired between Daniel Bwala and the intelligent interviewer. Immediately, I threw away my earlier resolve not to get involved in any discourse, and I decided to add my voice to what has now become a topical issue in the country.

All my life, I have always had respect for intellectuals. I admire people who are very intelligent, especially those who know how to knit words together to convey sensible meaning and intelligent understanding. For a long time, I had erroneously believed that Daniel Bwala belonged to this category because of the passionate way he pushes his convictions, which for some time made him an interviewer’s delight on many occasions. This belief was what I held on to until I watched the interview.

I must confess that the lawyer-turned-politician disappointed me so much that I almost hit the television set in front of me because of the way he handled the interview. To cut a long story short, Bwala did not do a good job defending and selling his principal, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to the world despite his concerted—yet fruitless—efforts.

To me personally, he succeeded only in winning more enemies for his boss and in portraying him in a bad light before the world.

Despite doing a poor job, it would be totally unfair for me to conclude that he was a total disaster. He did manage to use statistics to support some of his claims, which occasionally drew applause from the audience. However, Bwala failed woefully when he decided to deny statements he had made in the past while he was in the opposition. How could he deny things that are verifiably available on several platforms?

I believe he expected the questions to revolve mainly around the alleged persecution of Christian faithful in the country and never imagined that the discussion would extend into personal issues.

I watched as Bwala struggled throughout the interview. I wondered why he could not simply maintain that some of the things he said previously were statements made while he was on the opposite side of the political divide and not necessarily the truth. That approach might have appeared more honest. Instead, his denials placed a stamp on his credibility, suggesting that everything he says should be taken with a pinch of salt.

When the issue of the confiscation of Tinubu’s money in the United States was raised, he could not even clearly state the facts surrounding it. It took the APC chairman in the UK to step in and help him out. To me, that outing was not a good one for both the APC and President Tinubu.

There are lessons to be learned from what I witnessed, especially in our peculiar political environment where many politicians do not care about ideology but rather about what suits them at a particular moment. If Bwala had known that he would eventually work for Tinubu, he might never have made many of the statements he is now struggling to deny.

I have also seen many people comparing Rufai Oseni to the interviewer. Those making that comparison may not be completely honest about what they witnessed because it is like comparing sleep with death.

I have always maintained that Rufai Oseni is brilliant, and I admire his sense of history. However, the Ijebu boy who most times feels he is the best thing to happen to journalism in Nigeria often allows his emotions to cloud his professionalism.

The fact that he favours a particular side should not give him a license to pick fights with those he believes do not align with that side.

From what the world witnessed yesterday, did the interviewer sound like he was forcing anything down the throat of the interviewee like your “I put it to you” Ruffy? Despite not doing so, viewers were still able to draw their own conclusions that Bwala was exposed. Yet, the interviewer remained calm throughout the exchange and did not become angry—something that is quite alien to Ruffy boy’s style, which often makes it seem as though he is in a war situation with his guest

 

This is still Kunle Rasheed , reporting live from his inner mind.