Daniel Bwala, before politics, was an honourable and admirable man. He was a respected lawyer. I remember when he did political commentaries on Channels TV in 2017. I used to admire his composure and appreciate his views and demeanour.

All of a sudden, Bwala seemed to want more from life. He entered politics, and his political analysis started to go south. I can’t blame him for demanding more from life. However, the moment he became partisan, his views and opinions became watered down. I stopped listening.

He did a fantastic job campaigning for Vice President Atiku Abubakar to become president. He went hard on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Little did he know he was only digging his own grave. No insult intended, but I strongly believe greed motivated Bwala to work for Tinubu after previously becoming his adversary.

When Tinubu got Bwala on his side, it might have seemed like a blessing, but in reality, it was a calculated humiliation. Imagine being the image-maker for a man you once castigated on every media platform. Nobody will take you seriously. But in Nigeria, nobody cares about integrity as long as you are successful. In a sane society, serious people would ask questions and expect convincing answers.

To the best of my knowledge, Bwala is nothing but a liability to Tinubu. When it was announced that he would be featured on the Head to Head show on Al Jazeera, I knew there was a serious problem ahead. There was no way Bwala could easily survive an encounter with Mehdi Hasan, who is known for putting unscrupulous politicians under intense scrutiny. Hasan is a journalist among journalists. He talks fast, thinks fast, and reads widely.

When Hasan reached out to Bwala to appear on his show, Bwala should probably have declined. The show was simply not suited for him. Bwala appears more comfortable in a media environment characterised by sycophancy and brown envelopes.

Many of Tinubu’s achievements are seen as mediocrity by the Global North. If Tinubu were performing as well as Bwala and Reno Omokri want us to believe, emigration to Western countries would drop significantly. In fact, several Nigerians in the diaspora would start returning home. The headlines would change, and the West would get the message.

But the reality is the other way round. The UK government is considering extending the citizenship qualification period from five years to between ten and fifteen years, yet most Nigerians still do not want to return home. As challenging as India might be, some Indians have been moving back in significant numbers. Nigerians, however, remain largely unfazed.

During a Sunday service, my pastor referred to Nigeria as “Egypt,” and I felt bad hearing that. There is truly no place like home. But you can hardly blame him.

I don’t believe Bwala did badly during the interview. He simply did his best and was exposed. A seat on the Head to Head show was perhaps too big for him at this stage. The odds were also against him. He has a highly questionable and controversial political history; his principal, Tinubu, is like a rotten fish that is difficult to sell; and Hasan operates on an entirely different level.

Many of those criticising Bwala’s performance had never heard of Hasan until the interview went viral. Hasan is like a ferocious lion, and Bwala was like a wounded antelope before him — easy prey.

I also hear that Bwala is waiting for a part two of the Head to Head interview. Frankly, nobody wants to watch that. It might even cause him more damage. For now, Bwala should probably stick to local media and rebuild his confidence. He should focus on appearances on the National Television Authority (NTA) and other Tinubu-supporting podcasts. That could serve as a warm-up exercise after his difficult outing on the international stage.

Let’s be honest: Bwala ended up doing more harm than good to Tinubu’s reputation internationally.
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