A former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof Kingsley Moghalu, has criticised the performance of presidential spokesperson Daniel Bwala during an interview on Al Jazeera’s Head to Head programme last week, describing it as a major embarrassment for Nigeria and the administration of Bola Tinubu.

The interview, conducted by journalist Mehdi Hasan, drew wide attention internationally, with Moghalu arguing that the exchange projected Nigeria in a negative light before a global audience.

In a reaction posted after the programme aired, Prof Moghalu said the interview was ‘a disaster of gargantuan proportions’ not only for Bwala but also for the Tinubu administration and Nigeria as a whole.

According to him, the programme’s global reach and format, where the discussion took place before a live international audience, made the situation more damaging for the country’s image.

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“The interview made a spectacle of Nigeria, not just because of the reach of the programme globally, but also because there was a global audience in the room itself,” Prof Moghalu said.

He added that the exchange exposed deeper issues in Nigeria’s political culture, which he argued is driven more by opportunism than by clear ideology, policy positions or consistent beliefs.

Moghalu also questioned the standards used in recruiting government spokespersons, suggesting that loyalty rather than competence appears to be the main criterion.

“The fact that Bwala, given his record, is sent out to speak for the president on the international stage says much about the standards by which government recruits people for specific roles,” he said, adding that mediocrity often prevails where competence should matter most.

He further criticised the practice of appointing former political opponents who previously attacked the administration to represent the government after they defect to the ruling side.

According to Moghalu, such appointments can undermine credibility, particularly when individuals previously made strong personal criticisms of the leadership they now defend.

He argued that there are other individuals who could more credibly represent the government even if the administration’s performance in governance remains a subject of debate.

“At least the discussion would focus on the government’s track record rather than the spokesperson’s prior condemnations of that record,” he said.

Moghalu added that the reaction to the interview had spread beyond Nigeria, noting that several acquaintances from different countries had contacted him expressing concern over the exchange.

He said many observers around the world continue to hope that Nigeria will eventually fulfil its potential, given the achievements of its citizens globally.

While praising Nigerians for their talent, hard work and global impact, Moghalu lamented what he described as the persistent challenge of weak governance by political leaders in the country.

“It was a sad day for our country,” he said, noting that despite the successes of Nigerians around the world, the quality of governance at home remains a major concern.

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Kperogi enters

Also, a Nigerian-American professor, Farooq Kperogi, criticised Bwala for being unprepared, noting that “what viewers saw on Mehdi Hasan’s Head to Head was the spectacle of a presidential spokesman arriving unarmed to a firefight he should have anticipated, then trying to fight back with nervous laughter, evasions, amnesia and the old Nigerian official fallback of whataboutery.”

THe said the most striking thing about Bwala’s performance was not that he was challenged hard, stressing that the disgrace was that Bwala looked startled by facts he should have mastered before stepping into the studio.

“On insecurity, on corruption, on Tinubu’s own words and even on his own prior statements, he oscillated between denial, deflection and the sort of desperate verbal stalling that makes a government look smaller than its critics claim it is,” he said.

“The problem was not that Daniel Bwala appeared lazy or obviously unprepared. In fact, he looked prepared, even thoroughly rehearsed and robotic. He had the posture, the confidence and the choreographed mannerisms of a man who believed he had done his homework. But his carefully planned performances collapsed pitifully when they collided with Hasan’s hard, cold, indisputable facts.”