OMOGBOLAHAN BABAWALE
Merriam-Webster Dictionary describes a trailblazer as somebody who blazes a trail to guide others, or simply put, a pathfinder! The Advanced English Dictionary on its part defines a trailblazer as someone who marks a trail by leaving blazes or someone who helps to open up a new line of research,… or art. In other words, a trailblazer is a groundbreaker or somebody with impact. This author has repeatedly noted in several of his speeches and/or write-ups that Nigeria’s numero uno, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR has a knack for talent discovery. His (Mr. President’s) Midas touch acumen is noticeable in the number of persons who had risen from his political tutelage on one hand, and the personalities of those he chooses to draw much closer to himself on the other hand.
Regardless of the political leanings, he understands, quite perfectly the concept of friendship and camaraderie in defiance to patronage. As a man driven by results in public office, this has been his political idiosyncrasy for more than 3 decades anyway. Today, against all odds, and in spite of the many hanky-panky and jiggery-pokery against his appointment, President Tinubu damned everything and offered his adopted son, Dr. Daniel Bwala appointment to work with him directly in the State House. Akin to his principal’s work rate and mentality, Dr. Bwala from then on never looked back. Rather, he has consistently and persistently moved ‘guns-a-blazing’ in projecting the image of not only his employer – Mr. President, but also that of the country – Nigeria.
MY ASSESSMENT
It is an open and shut fact that since his appointment was announced by Mr. Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to Mr. President on Thursday, November 14, 2024, Dr. Bwala did not waste time in hitting the ground running. He needed to do something – to prove the naysayers and misanthropes wrong that President Tinubu did not make a wrong choice in appointing him to speak for his government. Only a cynic will today play down on Bwala’s work rate in the last twelve months. Since coming on board, he has hitherto stood very tall among other appointees of Mr. President, most prominently within the communication team. This man of Gwaski ancestry from Borno State personifies everything – competency, loyalty, dedication and goal-getting.
In 365 days, Dr. Bwala has no doubt redefined the art of spokesmanship, especially when one considers the rather saturnine, caliginous and tenebrific aura around the villa in terms of who takes the bullets for a government so assailed and castigated, not only by netizens on social media, but also by members of its party who felt the government as it were had no one to speak for it, and in spite of the array of several individuals who made up Mr. President’s communication team prior his appointment. His incandescence in lambently defending the government of the day across all media platforms – conventional or otherwise hallmarks a bedazzling footprints and milestones in so short a period – of his appointment.
COMPETENCE – In the current administration, if appointments were to be a corollary of individual’s competency and/or capability, that of Dr. Bwala would definitely have passed for a round peg in a round hole, notwithstanding the very stiff opposition from several quarters against his appointment. With his incontrovertible impact in just one year, marked by several visible deliverables – a resultant effect of hard work and apropos skills, he has, without equivocation, proven his suitability for the job. This author is aware of how gladdened the Commander-in-Chief always is of his insistence in bringing on board the egghead lawyer and consummate public communicator. If anyone today wants to fault the Special Adviser to Mr. President on Media and Policy Communications, definitely it is not going to be about his competence. He has earned the many accolades coming his way through his bodacious touches.
LOYALTY – Loyalty is everything! Mario Puzo, American author and screenwriter once said, “…The strength of a family, like the strength of an army, is in its loyalty to each other.” A loyal acolyte, party faithful or liege man of your school of thought is a great asset that must not be treasured any time any day. Here is a man who, against the rules of the game of politics – with many believing that loyalty in politics is often a liability – remains epigonic to President Tinubu’s political philosophy even when he had to take a break at some point. Never resorted to personal attacks because he is a dye-in-the-wool, loyal and very committed student of Mr. President’s school of politics. A commitment he displayed excessively prior and in the heat of the 2022 All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primaries. His moves back then at canvassing for a Tinubu presidency as the country’s only and best choice even when his own people plotted a subterfuge to retain power in the north was unmatched.
DEDICATION – Overtly, it is an undeniable and unequivocal fact that Spokesperson Daniel Bwala has so far shown total commitment and absolute dedication to his responsibilities as an appointee of Mr. President. His passion at dismantling lies dressed in facts, his posture at de-escalating opposition narratives and propaganda as well as his unpacking the milestones of the Renewed Hope administration vis-à-vis the many reform policies introduced by the current leadership under President Tinubu’s ascendancy are legendary – they remain unequalled, unparalleled! He has so far shown uncommon gusto and zest dedicating himself in the service of his principal, and by extension, his fatherland – Nigeria.
GOAL-GETTING – As a goal-getter who is never again a goner when it comes to roles and responsibilities, he delivers with excellent results. His words each time he has had time to tête-à-tête with this author is his constant efforts quotidian not to let Mr. President down. He has a lot at stake, and disappointing the numero uno is not an option for him. He knew what opposition the president faced before bringing him on board. He is also not unaware of the many endless chicanery and undercurrents till date to undermine his efforts. But he constantly pushes himself beyond the limit to deliver results against all machinations within and outside the ‘space’. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR is indeed benison-ed to have a man of his character as one of his appointees. Unbeknown to the C-in-C, 12 months into his appointment as the Special Adviser/Spokesperson on Media and Communications, all deliverables attributable to him have been personally funded by his humble self. Sounds incredible but this is the fact, incontrovertible! He is however not complaining. The job has to be done after all, with or without support because his focus remains one man, one individual, and one commander – Mr. President.
THE MILESTONES – Dr. Bwala’s milestones since coming on board are visible even to the blind, and audible to the deaf. He is meant to be communicating government policies essentially, but he has since become the mouthpiece of the administration doing the needful where and when necessary. From his engagements with Nigerians across many divides at coffee hangouts to engaging party’s support base – support groups not once with a promise that their commitment would not go unrewarded; and from his over 250 media appearances across all platforms – conventional and social to private meetings with various interest groups that the Renewed Hope promise of Mr. President is not a fluke, and lately his frantic efforts at controverting (with facts) the recent phantom narrative of Christian genocide in the country, only cynics will claim Dr. Bwala has not proved his mettle as a worthy appointee of Mr. President.
CONCLUSION
Bwala is not perfect. No one is, but he is definitely not the regular politician or political appointee most Nigerians are used to. Nigeria, and Mr. President are indeed blessed to have this man who epitomises excellence in quality job deliverables with an overdose of patriotism, especially with what he recently exhibited on the wicked propaganda of a none-existing Christian genocide capable of throwing the country into avoidable conflagration from the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) separatists – a bogus claim that exists only in the phantasmagoria of the proscribed reprobates. He is a treasure to behold!
Dr. Bwala is, inarguably, a living trailblazer who continues to put his footprints on the sands of time in Nigeria’s political anal. With noticeable effulgent scoresheet attributable to his deliverables in just twelve months, suffice to say again, that the Renewed Hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not a fluke after all. And Nigerians are yet to see what Bwala is indeed made of. What is seen of him now is only a tip of the iceberg. His full potential is only waiting to be ‘mined’, in the fullness of time.
Omogbolahan L.A. BABAWALE is the Convener and Lead Resource Person of The Think-Tinubu Initiative (3TI). He writes from Lagos. officialczar2@gmail.com