Moghalu Slams Bwala’s Al Jazeera Appearance as a “Global Embarrassment”

Kingsley Moghalu, former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, has condemned the recent Al Jazeera interview featuring Daniel Bwala, President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Policy Communications.

Moghalu described the outing as a “disaster of gargantuan proportions” that humiliated the administration, the country, and Bwala himself.

In a scathing statement shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday, March 8, 2026, Moghalu argued that Bwala’s appearance on Head to Head—hosted by the formidable Mehdi Hasan—embarrassed Nigeria before a global audience.

The critique centered on Hasan’s clinical confrontation of Bwala using his own past criticisms of Tinubu from the 2023 election cycle.

According to Moghalu, this resulted in Bwala resorting to “bare-faced lies” in a desperate, failed attempt to reframe his previous stance.

“The interview made a spectacle of Nigeria,” Moghalu wrote.

“It was a sad commentary on Nigeria’s political culture in which there are no beliefs, no policies, no ideology, just crass opportunism and the battle for political power. Turn-coatism is ‘it’.”

He criticized the administration’s decision to appoint individuals like Bwala, former opposition figures who had launched “incendiary and personalized attacks” on Tinubu to key representational roles simply due to their defection.

Moghalu contended that such appointments prioritize fleeting loyalty over competence, allowing mediocrity to prevail and undermining credibility when defending the government internationally.

“Competence doesn’t count. Mediocrity reigns,” he stated, saying he has been receiving calls from international contacts expressing shock and sympathy for Nigeria after the interview.

‎“It was a sad day for our country. I’ve received several calls from friends from various countries around the world. All were in shock and felt sorry to see Nigeria placed in such a spot.

“So many people are waiting and hoping for when our country will “wake up” and take its rightful place under the sun.”

He contrasted the perception of the country’s political leadership with the global respect earned by Nigerian citizens, whom he described as “brilliant, hardworking and respected all over the world, breaking barriers and achieving feats in various spheres.”

“The government and incompetent governance of Nigeria by its politicians remains a sorry tale,” he concluded, expressing hope that Nigeria would one day “wake up” and claim its “rightful place under the sun.”

Bwala, however later defended his performance and accused Hasan of using “opposition-style tactics.”