By Dr. Toju
For the past week, Al Jazeera’s Head-to-Head interview with presidential spokesman Daniel Bwala has dominated social media in Nigeria. As a communications professional who preps senior executives for high-stakes interviews like this, it was difficult to watch Bwala fall into one trap after another, but what followed was even worse. His post-interview press release, in which he asserted that he was “ambushed” by Mehdi Hassan with questions about his past, was a bigger professional misstep than the grilling interview. In claiming an ambush, Bwala admitted to being unprepared for the scrutiny his current role demands.
For communications professionals, particularly spokespersons representing high-profile political elites, here is my professional take on Bwala’s encounter with Hassan and what it teaches us about handling grilling interviews.
Lack of accountability: First, when you are a spokesperson to a major political figure as controversial as President Tinubu, and you have moved from ‘fiercest critic to official defender, everything is on the table – the past, the present and the future.
Especially when being interviewed by an astute journalist like Mehdi Hassan on an adversarial show. The show is called Head-to-Head for a reason; it’s ‘gladiatorial’, and Hassan is renowned for his prosecutorial style. Claiming ambush when a journalist pulls your past soundbites signals a lack of accountability and poor preparation.
Flat-out denial of publicly available information: The interview is a classic case study on the popular saying, “The internet never forgets.” On seven distinct occasions, Bwala denied past utterances or the accuracy of quotes attributed to him, even when confronted with transcripts of his exact words that were publicly available. These rejections stripped away his credibility, one denial after the other.
Frequent “I am not aware” response: To be well-informed is one of the most potent weapons a spokesperson can take to an adversarial interview. In addition to denying past utterances, Mr Bwala appeared to simply avoid difficult confrontation by frequently saying, “I am not aware.” He used the phrase on four different occasions during the interview. Repeatedly saying he was ‘not aware’ ceded control to the journalist and undermined his authority as a spokesperson, who should be a well-informed representative of the President of Nigeria.
False equivalence: During the interview, Bwala repeatedly made comparisons to normalise some criticisms that arose. Comparing insecurity in Nigeria to street crime in London is not only a false equivalence; it amounts to trivialising a national crisis that risks insulting the families of the over 11,000 victims. On another occasion, when asked about why he chose to work for President Tinubu, he equated his switching allegiances to Hassan’s career evolution, moving from BBC to Sky and MSNBC. While comparisons can be a good way to lend credibility to arguments, they can be counterproductive if the analogy is spurious or not used in the right context. This was largely the case in Bwala’s Head-to-Head interview with Hassan.
A few golden rules for navigating hostile media interviews:
Build a bridge, not a wall: This is one of the first things spokespeople learn in media interview training. When confronted with difficult facts about your past utterances, do not build a wall with denials or “I’m not aware” responses. Neutralise the weaponisation of your past by owning your historical utterances briefly, then use clear transition sentences to bridge to your prepared message – e.g., the evolution of your position. If the journalist keeps bringing up your past criticisms, you keep pivoting to reinforce how and why your position has evolved. This gives you more control to reinforce the present rather than constantly defending the past.
Master your data: As a spokesperson, data is one of the strongest armours you can use against a combative interviewer. While preparing for the interview, it is important to organise your talking points, but equally important are the data you will present as proof points to support your arguments and counter criticisms. When challenged about the rising death toll in Nigeria, Bwala could have provided the ratio of combatants killed versus civilian casualties to underscore targeted military operations against terrorists. The number of schools or pupils successfully relocated to safer locations would be more compelling than simply mentioning the ‘Save the School’ initiative. The number of families who have benefited from tuition fee grants and cost-of-living interventions would be stronger than simply stating increased foreign reserves. Vague phrases like ‘context matters’ don’t work in tough intellectual debates. Specific, verifiable metrics do.
Question the methodology, not facts: Instead of saying the data of a poll was derived from “drunken people”, as Bwala did, challenge the methodology or question the bias of the source if you have grounds for such. For example, you could say something like: “While we respect the work of Amnesty International, their methodologies often overlook the nuanced security challenges of Northern Nigeria.”
Prepare: Preparation is the key determinant of how your media interview will go. It is not only about gathering information, but also about boosting confidence. Journalists like Hassan prepare obsessively for high-stakes political interviews, and you must match that energy by conducting a forensic audit of your past to anticipate your vulnerabilities. Never assume that you will be treated with deference, as most Nigerian officials often expect. Stay humble but firm in standing your ground when the grilling starts.
Overall, as a spokesperson, you cannot always control the questions you get asked, so you must focus on controlling your responses. If you don’t like to be ambushed with difficult questions, then you aren’t ready to represent a president. And more importantly, you aren’t ready for the scrutiny of 200 million Nigerians.
Dr Toju is a strategic communications specialist.
