By; ISMAILLA DAUDA
Mahatma Gandhi’s famous quote stating that “there are enough resources to meet human needs, but not enough to meet human greed,” was never more true.
Politicians have proven to be greedy for power, ethically motivated with all their words and actions in office, only to gather support again during election year to continue in power. For most, there is no such thing as having the people in mind. Rather it is only their political survival that dominate their thoughts.
As 2023 draws near, Taraba State and indeed Jukunland shall once again witness a beehive of frenzy political activities in their most bizarre and sometimes ludicrous spectacle.
There’s no dismissing the fact that as things stand now today ,the topmost contenders in the two most prominent frontline political parties, the People’s Democratic Party PDP and the ruling All People’s Congress APC, only two names can be mentioned with all certainly as individuals who hold firmly in the lead on their own turf as frontrunners: Governor Darius Ishaku in firm grip of the PDP and Chief David Sabo Kente holding tightly to the ruling APC in southern Taraba.
This does not in anyway dismiss the other southern Taraba contenders as underdogs, especially Senator Emmanuel Bwacha who has made history as the only Jukun politician that has spent 12 solid unbroken years as Senator representing southern Taraba.
The modern history of Southern Taraba politics can never be complete of course without the mention of the events of 2015 which produced the present government in Taraba State led by Gov Darius Ishaku.
For the sake of posterity and record, we must all recall that in the middle of June 2014 ,a group of community opinion leaders, elders and other interest groups kick-started the push for a southern Taraba candidate that culminated with the choice of Chief David Sabo Kente as the first consensus candidate for the zone after several attempts in the past ended in confusion and disappointment.
These unanimous choice didn’t seat well with some politicians mostly based in Abuja , Senator Emmanuel Bwacha and Senator Joel Ikenya who felt threatened promptly mobilized the Abuja group to mount pressure on General TY DANJUMA to reopen the gate for a fresh round of nominations, accusing Chief David Sabo Kente of bribing the selection committee. The new grouping produced Gov Darius Ishaku and once again secured Senator Emmanuel Bwacha’s much coveted Senatorial seat to his satisfaction.
Immediately Gov Darius assumed office in Jalingo, it was Senator Emmanuel Bwacha, Hon Mark Useni and co who have stayed long in the Jalingo political corridor of power that tutored the new Governor how to rule by tactically impoverishing local Politicians and citizens through deliberate emasculation and staving them of funds until election year. They lectured him that the trick has worked for them for years to maintain their solid hold on power, and that he should try it and thank them later.
Senator Emmanuel Bwacha sure understands the political schemings and dirty hatchet jobs of the poor agrarian state like the back of his hands. To prove his political usefulness as an individual who climbed from nothing to becoming a billionaire of no means repute in politics within a short period of time, he spared no resources in the deconstruction of the opposition APC in the state. He drove the APC to near extinction until the reemergence of Chief David Sabo Kente who was frustrated out of the PDP after expending heavy resources alongside others to set up the party in the state.
It didn’t take long for the political marriage between Gov Darius Ishaku and Senator Emmanuel Bwacha to hit the rocks as there’s a saying that those who ride on the tiger’s back usually end up in it’s stomach. Gov Darius Ishaku, having consolidated himself firmly in power wants to chat a different course all together as his own man .
The sudden rebirth of Gov Darius Ishaku set in motion perhaps the biggest political dilemma and battle of survival for Senator Emmanuel Bwacha who has always excel in politics without much struggle using government machineries and resources for years. Neck deep in political trouble waters, desperation becomes the order of the day.
Many southern Taraba citizens which the Senator has represented for many years continue to express shock and surprise that suddenly their reclusive Senator has become accessable , generous and nice to a fault. As the titanic battle between the two giants continue to escalate in the run-up to the election year proper, the people of Southern Taraba continue reap the benefits of the fisticuffs long denied them. The chicken may have indeed wandered back home to roast.
Recognizing that you may not be the best person for the job anymore and that your time on the stage is up is incredibly difficult to admit by most political leaders, especially after they feel they may have amassed stupendous wealth and influence and invested blood, sweat, and tears into the the lucrative political field.
Most reject that little voice in the back of their heads shouting at their front and center to quit the stage, and that time is up . Most times the voices of Court jesters and hypocritical followers who’s main survival depended on the master will drown out the voice of reasoning warning that time is up!
This scenario shall play out in few weeks time as the biggest political beneficiary of all time in Jukunland, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha is set to decamp to the opposition APC in Taraba State, a party he maligned, demonized and drove to near extinct few years ago. It will surprise and indeed astound many who will watch Emmanuel Bwacha coming into the political party he was on record to have called ” a Muslim party and party of demons, darkness and blood suckers”.
Further more,it is worthy of note to emphasize that after being frustrated out the PDP by Senator Emmanuel Bwacha and co , Chief David Sabo Kente single handedly brought the Social Democratic Party SDP to Taraba State and nurtured it to a very prominent opposition block in the 2015 elections before decamping to the APC to build it once again from the scratch, a party which was almost nonexistent in southern Taraba, and grew it to a formidable force to be reckon with in terms of spread and acceptability amongst the southern people.
Political watchers are now of the opinion that unless the southern Taraba leaders of thought and church leaders on who’s back Senator Emmanuel Bwacha rose to power move quickly to intervene and block , the “spoiler” role the Senator is perfecting now, he activities may throw the entire southern Taraba into a huge political conflagration that may diminish the political fortune of the entire zone for a long time come because of the greed of one man.
Many political analyst are quick to point out answers to several questions that have been agitating the minds of the people of Southern Taraba and the state in general that : if it’s not mischief what does Senator Emmanuel Bwacha want again in the APC after an uninterrupted 20 years in power with the PDP?
The conclusion by most people is that the Senator may perhaps have an exaggerated opinion about himself like most African leaders who feel they must rule forever and die in power, and no one is qualify to access power except themselves or everything must be destroyed.
Many observed clearly that the Senator is not coming into the APC to contest and win election, but rather in furtherance of his well known character of jealousy and envy to repeat once again what he did to Chief David Sabo Kente in 2015: frustrate his ambition as the brightest and single individual with the most delegates in the party in southern Taraba as things stand today.
Many are wondering and questioning the desperation of Senator Emmanuel Bwacha who seems to have thrown all caution into the wind and allowed himself to be blindfolded completely with greed and covetousness for power and things of the world.
The saying that no champion reigns forever holds true, it takes the grace of the Almighty for a leader to recognize that the time is up on the stage and it’s due time to lead from behind.
Will the people of Southern Taraba allow the once reclusive and now visible senator to continue to eat his cake and still have it ? Only time shall tell, but from all indication Senator Emmanuel Bwacha has failed to read the handwriting clearly written on the wall that the time for retirement has come.
Dauda writes from Abuja
