₦airaland Forum

semid4lyfe:
Mehdi Hassan is a brutal interviewer. There's no guest he hasn't cooked on this Head to Head programme.

He's also a great debater. Intelligent, fast thinker and quick-witted.

Just finished watching the entire interview, and considering his extremely difficult task of defending this PBAT administration, his past criticism of PBAT and juxtaposing it with the performance of other guests on the show, I'll say Daniel Bwala did okay.

I didnt watch the entire entire, Just the snippets posted here and Bwala didnt do well there, He seemed unprepared

One of the best tactics in political argument is to be ready to concede some grounds. You cannot defend everything. And be prepared

Nowadays what stops Bwala from having some talking points jotted down or even have an iPad where he can use to juggle his memory

Its not a difficult task defending Tinubu at all, Only Insecurity is the hard part, which you can get ahead of. Others are very easy to defend

Emaprince:
Guy it was shameful.

Those oyobo ladies especially.

Nigerians already know the drill..and how these crooks give barefaced lies to the public because nothing will happen. Bit those oyibo ladies arent used to this kind of shames lies and denial of everything he said.

I understand that some of these appointments are political, but you wey dem appoint, at least brush yourself with the necessary skills and research.

You cannot be the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, and you cannot even try to deflect well, or even put up something coherent as a defense.

E come be like Stand up abi na Sit down comedy

raumdeuter:
I didnt watch the entire entire, Just the snippets posted here and Bwala didnt do well there, He seemed unprepared

One of the best tactics in political argument is to be ready to concede some grounds. You cannot defend everything. And be prepared

Nowadays what stops Bwala from having some talking points jotted down or even have an iPad where he can use to juggle his memory

Its not a difficult task defending Tinubu at all, Only Insecurity is the hard part, which you can get ahead of. Others are very easy to defend

No one is easy, to be honest.

You can only enjoy some breather in economy, and that's all. The rest needs you to be able to stay on at least one strong point, or concede quickly.

It's always the loudest and empty headed that usually go to defend Tinubu. The Bright minds of his government no fit do all these ones

Ellexy:
Did okay? By denying himself over and over again when presented with his qoutes and had the audience clutching their faces in sheer disbelief...

Denying yourself is a bad look

A simple answer is that you have a different perspective when looking from outside and talking without knowing the inner working, when you have come into the admin, known Tinubu personally, known how the govt works and some of the official documents, you have a different prspective

If Mehdi continues pressing about

1. Bullion van, admit you were misled by people from Lagos who claimed money was in the bullion van, Upon closer thought you realized it was a lie, No one ever saw money in there. If there is anyone who can state the amount inside, Mehdi pls tell me. secondly, I doubt there is a law in Nigeria that says you cannot bring your own money into your own house even with a bullion van.
Regarding the claim of election buying, That is a false claim that has never been substantiated, Tinubu given his stand in the society just like many big men routinely supports his community and the needy financially

2. Tinubu is trying t kill opponent.
Answer : I am not from Lagos I am from the North and depend on people on ground for Lagos updates, After getting close to Tinubu I realized he is the kindest leader, a honest and hardworking one who prioritizes the countries affair, He is not a vindictive person as we have seen many previous opponents come into his fold and see him for who he really is and not what the media claimed him to be. We have had vindictive leaders in this country like OBJ and we know Tinubu is cut from a different cloth

Note: I came up with these defence on the spot while typing

izzou:
No one is easy, to be honest.

You can only enjoy some breather in economy, and that's all. The rest needs you to be able to stay on at least one strong point, or concede quickly.

It's always the loudest and empty headed that usually go to defend Tinubu. The Bright minds of his government no fit do all these ones

Insecurity is difficult to defend, You can play around with economic number, there are many international organization that is scoring this admin high on some economic indices , You pick those ones and hammer on them, You hammer on debt reduction

No one will show you the videos from Gworza today and you can say anything to defend at least not me without looking like an idiot. Saying people always die is a terrible response

They think its Twitter banger boying

[quote author=Ellexy post=138684980]🙆🙆🙆

If Rufai Osnei said this,

They will call him rude!

Hahahahah pic.twitter.com/L7hJm3MXsO

— oseni rufai (@ruffydfire) March 6, 2026

abeg😭😭😭😭

izzou:
I understand that some of these appointments are political, but you wey dem appoint, at least brush yourself with the necessary skills and research.

You cannot be the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, and you cannot even try to deflect well, or even put up something coherent as a defense.
E come be like Stand up abi na Sit down comedy

Lai Mohamed was better than all these Bwala and Seyilaw.. Its not hard to get metrics that support the govt policies and talk about it

Go and see when Israel vs Gaza dey hot and Piers Morgan dey grill both sides.
This is a job that pays them very well, They are inner caucus people who are privy to things govt is doing

Why cant they research and articulate it if not for laziness

I prefer his answers to this where he pointed Mehdi back to US and UK leaders
Mehdis answer was he doesnt support Trump, then route him to Bidens corruption at least he supported Biden

MEHDI HASAN: How can Nigerians take Tinubu seriously on eliminating corruption when he appoints somebody like Abubakar Bagudu as Minister of Budget and Economic Planning? A man who according to the U.S Justice Dept with others embezzled, misappropriated...

DANIEL BWALA: pic.twitter.com/2gup28Fp9w

— @𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗷𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗯𝗼𝘆 (@OneJoblessBoy) March 6, 2026

Iseee

raumdeuter:
Denying yourself is a bad look

A simple answer is that you have a different perspective when looking from outside and talking without knowing the inner working, when you have come into the admin, known Tinubu personally, known how the govt works and some of the official documents, you have a different prspective

If Mehdi continues pressing about

1. Bullion van, admit you were misled by people from Lagos who claimed money was in the bullion van, Upon closer thought you realized it was a lie, No one ever saw money in there. If there is anyone who can state the amount inside, Mehdi pls tell me. secondly, I doubt there is a law in Nigeria that says you cannot bring your own money into your own house even with a bullion van.
Regarding the claim of election buying, That is a false claim that has never been substantiated, Tinubu given his stand in the society just like many big men routinely supports his community and the needy financially

2. Tinubu is trying t kill opponent.
Answer : I am not from Lagos I am from the North and depend on people on ground for Lagos updates, After getting close to Tinubu I realized he is the kindest leader, a honest and hardworking one who prioritizes the countries affair, He is not a vindictive person as we have seen many previous opponents come into his fold and see him for who he really is and not what the media claimed him to be. We have had vindictive leaders in this country like OBJ and we know Tinubu is cut from a different cloth

Note: I came up with these defence on the spot while typing

The problem with all these things is that he said them confidently as an opposition member. There is no way he won't look bad, not possible.

On Tinubu having militia to kill opponents he said Tinubu threatened him personally, when Mehdi asked him about it he said he denied ever saying it.

Just watch the dull video, its even way worse than the snippets, Mehdi even asked him about Tinubu's date of birth


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygdNgnTzl6A?si=Ws_l3AlXS42LGfoz

livelongprospa:
God abeg😭😭😭😭

Shame wear me jalamia

raumdeuter:
Lai Mohamed was better than all these Bwala and Seyilaw.. Its not hard to get metrics that support the govt policies and talk about it

Go and see when Israel vs Gaza dey hot and Piers Morgan dey grill both sides.
This is a job that pays them very well, They are inner caucus people who are privy to things govt is doing

Why cant they research and articulate it if not for laziness

I can tell you it's very hard. These people are not dumb, problem is you can't defend Tinubu on national or international stage like that and not look dumb and dishonest. This one no be Nairaland amala.

Ellexy:
Shame wear me jalamia

This was me

Segedinho:
Baba na another interview you watch o

Or maybe brext dey ur mouth as u dey watch

Daniel Bwala wasn't flustered or agitated at any point in the interview.
He was calm, composed, genial and conceded a few points.

He even launched some offensive salvos using Keir Starmer and Donald Trump to draw comparison and push back at Mehdi Hassan.

He emphasized that context matters for a lot of the things he said in the past.

He disputed some data and figures that Mehdi Hassan was reeling out.

I could go on and on.

Again, considering how difficult it is to defend PBAT , I think Daniel Bwala did okay.

livelongprospa:
God abeg😭😭😭😭

Bwala just disgraced himself and the administration. I am sure that guy, Ajuri, who resigned, would've done much better.

Ellexy:
The problem with all these things is that he said them confidently as an opposition member. There is no way he won't look bad, not possible.

On Tinubu having militia to kill opponents he said Tinubu threatened him personally, when Mehdi asked him about it he said he denied ever saying it.
Just watch the dull video, its even way worse than the snippets, Mehdi even asked him about Tinubu's date of birth

He said them confidently because he depended on peoples report not his personal dealings

Mehdi within the first 5mins already made a false statement that govt is more likely to hit civilians and not terrorists

That is an easy position to attack

semid4lyfe:
Daniel Bwala wasn't flustered or agitated at any point in the interview.
He was calm, composed, genial and conceded a few points.

He even launched some offensive salvos using Keir Starmer and Donald Trump to draw comparison and push back at Mehdi Hassan.

He emphasized that context matters for a lot of the things he said in the past.

He disputed some data and figures that Mehdi Hassan was reeling out.

I could go on and on.

Again, considering how difficult it is to defend PBAT , I think Daniel Bwala did okay.

He was actually confused and even began to laugh. Mehdi had to caution him for laughing.

When he was asked about Bagudu; a man who returned $163 million and is now a Minister of Budget, he was laughing.

You cannot be representing a country and be laughing when they are throwing rocks and shades at you.

Ellexy:
I can tell you it's very hard. These people are not dumb, problem is you can't defend Tinubu on national or international stage like that and not look dumb and dishonest. This one no be Nairaland amala.

There are several economic metric to show. Point to the debts, the less amount that is spent on subsidy ,

Mehdi - Does your country only spring into action when external countries complain?

That is also another point to show what Nigerian govt has done before Trump spoke

Which means Mehdi is reading slanted news

patrickmuf:
Bwala just disgraced himself and the administration. I am sure that guy, Ajuri, who resigned, would've done much better.

Thank you.

There's nothing brilliant about this at all.

The guy had data. Why not use data to buttress your own point?

Kept on smiling unnecessarily

izzou:
He was actually confused and even began to laugh. Mehdi had to caution him for laughing.

When he was asked about Bagudu; a man who returned $163 million and is now a Minister of Budget, he was laughing.

You cannot be representing a country and be laughing when they are throwing rocks and shades at you.

He could have done without the laughing

He actually made good points by pointing out the people in Trump and Starmer that were corrupt which Mehdi only said he didnt support Trump

Then press Mehdi the Biden you support was also corrupt

izzou:
Thank you.

There's nothing brilliant about this at all.

The guy had data. Why not use data to buttress your own point?

Kept on smiling unnecessarily

That guy was grilled. The smile was a coping mechanism.

The lady questioning him was talking off point and Daniel tackled her properly that she wants to believe western media when they say something bad about Nigeria but want to disbelieve the same western media

That is disingenuous and intellectually dishonest

semid4lyfe:
Daniel Bwala wasn't flustered or agitated at any point in the interview.
He was calm, composed, genial and conceded a few points.
He even launched some offensive salvos using Keir Starmer and Donald Trump to draw comparison and push back at Mehdi Hassan.
He emphasized that context matters for a lot of the things he said in the past.
He disputed some data and figures that Mehdi Hassan was reeling out.
I could go on and on.
Again, considering how difficult it is to defend PBAT , I think Daniel Bwala did okay.

The biggest gaffes were when they used his previous words against him which he could have explained away that he did not know Tinubu closely

I just watched the entire clip not the twitter snippets.

Surely the Twitter snippets were the worst of Bwala, Overall I think Bwala did fairly well

The lady Aisha was the worst questioner, She is claiming that Tinubu is turning Nigeria to a 1 party state, what is her evidence that it was Tinubu that made them to decamp

killsmith:
That guy was grilled. The smile was a coping mechanism.

This guy spoke my mind.

A Media adviser should know who he is up against, not casually rocking the chair like person wey wan come collect Chieftaincy title

izzou:
This guy spoke my mind.

A Media adviser should know who he is up against, not casually rocking the chair like person wey wan come collect Chieftaincy title

Watching the whole thing, It wasnt as bad as I initially thought from those snippets

Like I said, Daniel didnt have to deny, just say you have new information now and every rational human change their opinion based on new info

Also Mehdi is a fast talker and trying to match him will do you no good cos Mehdi is reading questions and you have to think of responses

Also I give Bwala credit, cos If I tried to keep up with Mehdi's speech speed I will likely start stuttering, Bwala didnt which is a positive

raumdeuter:
Watching the whole thing, It wasnt as bad as I initially thought from those snippets

Like I said, Daniel didnt have to deny, just say you have new information now and every rational human change their opinion based on new info

Also Mehdi is a fast talker and trying to match him will do you no good cos Mehdi is reading questions and you have to think of responses

Also I give Bwala credit, cos If I tried to keep up with Mehdi's speech speed I will likely start stuttering, Bwala didnt which is a positive

Na people like you dey make these people mediocre day by day

Even Tuggar that was grilled was not bad.

Daniel didn't have any rebuttal for most of what he was asked by Mehdi. At some point, he said Amnesty doesn't say anything good. Just beer parlor defense tactics

This is a Media and Publicity figure for a country. I can tolerate Seyi being roasted, but someone who cannot even do his job well is something else.

Sotey, audience begin laugh.

Credit ko, Debit ni

izzou:
Na people like you dey make these people mediocre day by day

Even Tuggar that was grilled was not bad.

Daniel didn't have any rebuttal for most of what he was asked by Mehdi. At some point, he said Amnesty doesn't say anything good. Just beer parlor defense tactics

This is a Media and Publicity figure for a country. I can tolerate Seyi being roasted, but someone who cannot even do his job well is something else.

Sotey, audience begin laugh.

Credit ko, Debit ni

It is not as if mehdi is an unknown quantity or as if mehdi is not a known hostile interviewer.

This speaks to the mental laziness of people appointed to government roles. Bwala is simply unprepared to be a media aide. It is as simple as that. It is a role where you should be mentally quick on your feet, able to parry and deflect and counter interviewers

The guy is just an unfit person in a role dashed to him as jobs for the boys. Even renowanker would likely have done a better job.

I wonder what will happen next.

'Quote it'
'source'
'Date'
I'm not aware...
'context matters '

izzou:
Na people like you dey make these people mediocre day by day

Even Tuggar that was grilled was not bad.

Daniel didn't have any rebuttal for most of what he was asked by Mehdi. At some point, he said Amnesty doesn't say anything good. Just beer parlor defense tactics

This is a Media and Publicity figure for a country. I can tolerate Seyi being roasted, but someone who cannot even do his job well is something else.

Sotey, audience begin laugh.

Credit ko, Debit ni

I didnt watch the Tuggar interview. Was it 1v1 or like this Daniel vs Mehdi plus the additional questioner plus the crowd

He didnt do bad at all. He did fair

If dem put you do you think you would have done better?

The question they were able to trip him were when Mehdi was quoting his past comments which he didnt handle well

Lots of sleeper cells Iran will activate after this war eh, I will pray for America and Jewish communities .

GloriousGbola:
It is not as if mehdi is an unknown quantity or as if mehdi is not a known hostile interviewer.

This speaks to the mental laziness of people appointed to government roles. Bwala is simply unprepared to be a media aide. It is as simple as that. It is a role where you should be mentally quick on your feet, able to parry and deflect and counter interviewers

The guy is just an unfit person in a role dashed to him as jobs for the boys. Even renowanker would likely have done a better job.

I wonder what will happen next.

izzou:
Na people like you dey make these people mediocre day by day

Even Tuggar that was grilled was not bad.

Daniel didn't have any rebuttal for most of what he was asked by Mehdi. At some point, he said Amnesty doesn't say anything good. Just beer parlor defense tactics

This is a Media and Publicity figure for a country. I can tolerate Seyi being roasted, but someone who cannot even do his job well is something else.

Sotey, audience begin laugh.

Credit ko, Debit ni

Reno would have been worse.

Tuggar was cooked terribly by Piers Morgan and that Canadian lady on Piers Morgan Uncensored so tey he became belligerent and started shouting .

Bayo Onanuga, Ajuri Ngelale would have been a mismatch. They speak in hesitant, halting manner using lots of fillers. Ditto for Lai Mohammed and Garba Shehu of PMB govt. Also, these peeps wouldn't have been able to cope with the fast-paced rapid question style of Mehdi.

Like G.Gbola said, Mehdi is a known hostile interviewer and the whole idea of the show is to put guests under pressure with uncomfortable questions.

Make una no dey underestimate how difficult this kinda interview setting is. You sit across someone whose job is to grill you, interrupt, twist your words, and keep pushing until you slip. The audience of the show already leans skeptical, so you are in unfriendly territory in the first place.

Most Nigerian government spokesmen are used to local press briefings where journalists allow long answers and soft landings. That setting differs from a rapid-fire studio interview like Head to Head where Mehdi controls the pace and keeps cutting you off.

So judging DB's outing as if the goal was to win the interviewer no be am. The goal is simple. Hold your ground, avoid major blunders, and launder and pass across your government's talking points to an international audience.

The only place Daniel Bwala struggled was his past statements on Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and Mehdi kept going back to those old utterances. That angle boxed him in because he had to spend time explaining the turnaround instead of focusing fully on defending government policy.

Apart from that, he stayed in the seat, kept a friendly genial disposition, answered most of the questions, deflected and parried a few, disputed some figures and data, fired a few salvos at Mehdi and did not melt down under pressure. On a program like Head to Head, that already counts for something.

I rest my fingers.