By Terna Chikpa
April 22, 2025
As someone who values development and holds in high regard those who champion it, I’ve long admired Senator Emmanuel Bwacha. His commitment to development, visible projects, and charisma once made me proud to support him openly — even at great personal cost. But recent experiences have shaken that confidence, and I am left asking a painful question: Has Bwacha become infected with the APC’s political “bad blood”?
My journey with Senator Bwacha began in 2017, during the 40th anniversary of the late Aku Uka of Wukari, HRM Dr. Shakarau Angyu. Since then, I have never hidden my admiration for the senator’s work. In the buildup to the 2023 elections, I campaigned for him openly, defying the risks in a state dominated by opposing political forces. That boldness came at a cost.
In February 2022, during a dinner with journalists at the Presidential Lodge in Jalingo, then-Governor Darius Ishaku directed that a car be given to me in recognition of my contributions. But that reward never came. My colleagues, citing my support for Senator Bwacha, told the ADC I didn’t deserve the car. I was dismissed — not for lack of merit, but because I chose to support a man I believed in.
Still, I held my ground. Even when I was later suspended from attending government functions or entering the Government House, I did not regret standing with Senator Bwacha. I thought he would, at least, stand by me in my hour of need.
But when I needed help the most — just ₦35,000 to complete medical bills — my calls and messages to the senator went unanswered. Hon. Disebe Donga had promised to intercede, even gave me Bwacha’s active number, but the silence that followed was deafening. I was not asking for luxury or reward. I was asking for help — for survival.
The pain of that silence lingers. Not because I feel entitled to anything, but because it came from someone I defended and supported with everything I had. I’ve never begged him for personal assistance before, and I never thought I would have to. But that moment of need exposed a side I had not seen — or refused to see.
Is this what the APC turns people into? Unreachable, emotionally distant, detached from the very people who carried their banner when it wasn’t easy? The same senator who once promised to buy me a car if he became governor — a promise made with emotion in front of witnesses — suddenly became a stranger when the stakes were no longer electoral.
To be clear: I do not write this to destroy Senator Bwacha’s image. I still believe he is a man of vision. I still support his development mission. But I also believe that loyalty should not be one-sided. And while I have endured the punishments of my convictions, I now carry the burden of disappointment — not because the government ignored me, but because the man I supported did the same.
I hope this is not the “APC disease” we keep hearing about — the one that changes people, strips them of empathy, and hardens their hearts. If it is, then the party has infected more than just politics — it has infected humanity.
Until proven otherwise, I remain a supporter of development. I still believe in the vision I saw in Senator Bwacha. But I will not stay silent when that vision fails to respond to pain.
For more updates, follow The Newspointer on X (Twitter), WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook.
Contact Us: ✉️ Email: humtarosamson@gmail.com
📞 Tel: +2348138465350 or 07071144444
Online Editor: Humtaro S. Humtaro
© 2024 TheNewspointer.com.ng – All Rights Reserved.
