I had throat surgery 8 days after Al Jazeera interview – Bwala

Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, has disclosed that he underwent throat surgery shortly after his much-talked-about interview with Al Jazeera journalist Mehdi Hasan.

He made the revelation during an appearance on News Central’s programme, 60 Minutes with Mr Kay, which aired on Friday. During the interview, Bwala also addressed the public reaction to his Al Jazeera appearance and criticism from social media users.

“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.

Bwala aimed at Peter Obi’s supporters referred to as “Obidients,” accusing them of placing political allegiance above Nigeria’s broader interests.

“I know the environment I come from; it’s an environment where there exists a species of ‘Trojans’ of social media called the ‘Obidient,’ who do not care about the national interest or the security of Nigeria and will do everything possible to achieve the aim of their hero, no matter the cost,” Bwala stated.

He also defended his conduct during the Al Jazeera interview, describing Mehdi Hasan’s questioning style as confrontational and aligned with opposition tactics.

“What Mehdi Hasan did was what we call opposition-style journalism, where you play the role of the opposition. In that interview, Mehdi sought to elicit information from me to discredit the government, but he could not,” he said.

According to Bwala, a significant portion of the discussion focused on remarks he made about President Tinubu while he was in the opposition, which he acknowledged but tried to move past.

“In the first 15 minutes, he started by asking me to answer questions relating to things I said about President Tinubu when I was in the opposition.

“Repeatedly, I admitted to them — I even said I had said more than what he mentioned — but I asked that we move on to the purpose of the interview,” he said.

He added that he eventually cautioned Hasan against continuing along the same line of questioning.

“He continued doing it, and at a point, I warned him that if he kept going in that direction, I would deny it. He continued, and that was why I kept denying,” Bwala said.