Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Policy Communication, has disclosed that he underwent throat surgery shortly after a widely circulated interview with journalist Mehdi Hasan of Al Jazeera.
Bwala made the revelation during an interview aired on Friday, where he also addressed reactions to the interview and criticism from online communities.
“Eight days after the interview with Mehdi Hasan, I underwent surgery on my throat. I don’t know whether it is the ‘Obidient’ people that threw that African thing, but in any case, I’m back and strong,” he said.
He went on to criticise a section of social media users he described as “Obidients,” accusing them of placing political loyalty above national interest.
“I know the environment I come from; it’s an environment where there exists a group on social media called the ‘Obidients,’ who do not care about national interest or Nigeria’s security and will go to any length to support their preferred candidate,” Bwala stated.
Defending his performance during the interview, Bwala characterised Hasan’s approach as adversarial, describing it as “opposition-style journalism.”
“What Mehdi Hasan did was what we call opposition-style journalism, where the interviewer plays the role of the opposition. He tried to extract statements from me to discredit the government, but he was unsuccessful,” he said.
Bwala explained that a significant portion of the interview focused on his past criticisms of the Tinubu administration while he was still in the opposition—remarks he acknowledged but attempted to move beyond.
“In the first 15 minutes, he asked questions based on statements I made about President Tinubu when I was in the opposition. I admitted to them — even said I had said more than what he mentioned — but requested that we move on to the main purpose of the interview,” he said.
According to him, he warned Hasan against continuing along the same line of questioning.
“He persisted, and at a point, I told him that if he continued, I would deny it. He did, and that was why I kept denying,” Bwala added.
The interview, which circulated widely on social media, sparked backlash, particularly on X, where critics described Bwala’s performance as underwhelming.
During the exchange, Hasan repeatedly confronted Bwala with past statements in which he had criticised President Tinubu before defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2023.
When Bwala denied making some of the remarks, Hasan presented video clips as evidence, which further intensified online reactions.
Hasan also questioned him on Nigeria’s security challenges, citing reports from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, while Bwala did not provide specific data to counter the claims.