Chukwudi Nweje
Dr Amobi Nwokafor is a governorship aspirant in Anambra State on the platform of the All Progressives Congress(APC). Ahead of next year’s governorship election, the chartered accountant believes that he has the experience and what it takes to lead Anambra State. In this interview, he spoke on his ambition, why his party APC should be the choice of Anambra voters in 2021 among others.
Anambra State indigenes are scattered everywhere all over the world and somebody needs to gather them together and make them have a focus that will develop the state and make it what it should be. Anambra state is the number one state in Nigeria. We are in Lagos and I have seen the way Lagos is; Anambra can beat Lagos in terms of development. We are relying too much on federal allocation, where every month we go to Abuja to share income coming from the federal level but I am an Igboman and we are used to looking inward. The question agitating my mind is, can Anambra State exist independently economically without necessarily relying on the Federal Government. That should be the position point, how do we make Anambra State to be viably independent economically. When we put all these together, I told myself that I can positively change the fortunes of my state; I decided let me offer myself to serve my people and I believe that I will get there.
You have the competence and experience and even the confidence and conviction that you will be able to deliver, but considering that you are just entering politics for the first time, do you think you have the war chest to withstand the challenges ahead?
If you make God your cornerstone, there is nothing you cannot overcome. So, in this journey I know there are stumbling blocks, potholes and locusts everywhere and there are also the politics aspect of it, but I know that as long as God is our cornerstone and our pillar, we will overcome. As an individual, I fear nobody. I know how God made me and the qualities He has infused in me and the characteristics that stand me out. I may look calm and quiet but I know that I can withstand any pressure. We are all human beings and we should not be afraid of another human being. I know that it is not a child’s play to want to be become the governor of Anambra State and you must be ranking in the state to want to think about that. But who are the people, I am one of the ranking persons in the state, because you cannot just push me aside, I know I am equal to the task.
Do you think you can sell APC to the people of Anambra, considering that the party is not popular in the state?
That is the reason I joined APC in the first place, I want to let people know that we are not playing the correct politics in Nigeria. In Anambra State, you have APC, PDP and APGA and APGA is not in any other state apart from Anambra State. So, why should we put our eggs in one basket, I mean it’s a common knowledge that you do not do that, but that is what we are doing. In the first place, it is not good politics; the good politics in the first place is for you to understand Nigeria; why should we be playing sectional politics rather than national politics.
We should be different in terms of our belief and process of development. I believe that if we are very serious to develop Anambra state, it is APC. A PC is at the national level, we play national politics and not sectional politics.
What is your relationship with the leaders of the party in the state and around the country, like Senator Chris Ngige and the Asiwaju Bola Tinubu?
That is the reason I joined APC in the first place, because APC is looking at individuals and not how long you have been in the party. You know very well that Ngige alone is enough to market APC in the state based on his past deeds. They know already that I am there and all eyes are on me. I do not need to have a godfather to make it in APC and that is the beauty of APC. APC in Anambra State is very democratic and because we have not taken that position before, they want to present the best and that is why I am hopeful I will get the ticket.
Awka where you come from is Anambra central, there is this power rotation agreement that the next governor of the state should come from Anambra South and not central, because as they say, Anambra Central has had it for 16 years and that for the sake of equity, it’s now the turn of the South; do you want to scuttle that arrangement?
I may describe that scenario you painted as an implanted consciousness; people want to continue to hold power and that is why they are continually talking about zoning. There was nothing like zoning before and if we will be talking about zoning, it could be zoning among political parties. Like I said before, we are Igbo and we are all indigene of Anambra State and we should not be just in one party, we should disperse to other parties so that we would be able to harness resources both human and otherwise; politics is a matter of dialogue and negotiations. If we are talking about zoning, it should be among political parties because all of us are Igbo. I am from Anambra State; I want to tell you that the type of zoning that should be done is zoning on political party basis; where it can be zoned to APC. PDP ruled Anambra sometime in the past, and after they had ruled, APGA came in and APGA has ruled for 16 years. All of us are human beings with aspirations; it will be wrong to put us aside because we are members of APC, so it is our turn as political parties to rule Anambra State.