Senator Emma Anosike is presently championing the cause for power shift to Anambra North Senatorial zone in the November governorship election in the state. In this interview with newsmen, he spoke on the possibility of his zone producing the next governor of the state. Chuks Okocha presents the excepts

Your zone has started the agitation to produce next governor of Anambra State; are you part of it?

I am totally in support of this demand. You must know that it did not start today. We have been making this demand long ago for our brothers and sisters in Anambra central and Anambra south to see reason for change in the power equation. If you trace the history of politics in Anambra you will discover that Anambra North has continued to be marginalised and this is not fair at all. The zone has always been the decider in every governorship election.

We produce block vote and this has led to the emergence of all the governors both past and present. So this is payback time. They should support us so that we produce the next governor and we would not be asking for too much from our brothers. Already, Governor Peter Obi has reechoed it that he is in support of the next governor coming from the North and we all wish to commend him for that brotherly support to our people and I urge others to follow the same line of augment.

But a clan on the aegis of Omabala forum has come out to say the next governor must come from Anambra north; isn't it becoming sectional?

All clan or quarters in Anambra North are free to lay claim to the governorship seat of the state and there is nothing wrong about that. Ogbaru people can lay claim to it, Onitsha people can also lay claim to it. Just like Omabala people have done. What is paramount is that at the end of the day, an Anambra North person becomes the governor. It will lead to disintegration of the senatorial district. What it goes to show is that we are serious about what we are looking for and I can assure you that it will bring out the best in us at the end.

There is also this argument that while other zones were contesting in previous elections, the North also had candidates.

You see, the argument does not follow. What we are canvassing for is that our zone has to be given the chance to be in Government House, Awka. You should also consider the demand by the South-east geopolitical zone for the presidency of Nigeria. While other political zones were contesting and becoming president of Nigeria, Ndigbo contested and going by that argument, the South-east should not be clamoring for the president of Nigeria of Igbo extraction.

Again, when the central produced governors, the South also contested and the same is the case with the South senatorial districts, granted that there was no laid down agreement on the zoning formula. But it has become imperative that common sense, rational judgment, equity and good conscience prevail at all times.

But there is a school of thought that Anambra North is not united in the struggle, due to pockets of tin gods.

Who are the tin gods? Even in a family of children from the same womb, there will always be disagreement and that shows that it is a family and at the end, they would settle their differences and life goes on. But the truth of matter is that we are one family and everybody is pointing to one direction and that is 2014. Normally, we are bound to have those that do not want to agree among themselves, but that is understandable. It, however, does not vitiate the fact that everyone desires the same thing. But there are those who also believe that there is nobody in Anambra North that can be governor. I do not agree with you; nobody can be saying that type of thing. What are the guidelines or constitutional provisions for those that will contest election? Does that mean nobody in Anambra North has such a qualification? Are we all illiterates and lock-heads? We had Prince Chinedu Emeka as deputy governor to Mbadinuju; we had our sister that was deputy to Andy Uba; we have produced Senators, members of House of Representatives, ministers and other top government functionaries including Judges and Chief Judges.

You remember that we had the late Rt Hon Dr. Chuba Okadigbo as senate President and what we do not have is the credentials of becoming governor. I see this as begging the question and trivialising the matter. Those saying that are handicapped and lack the sense of rational judgment. I do not subscribe to mediocre permutations. What we are talking about is a candidate that needs no introduction to Anambra people; a candidate that has all that it takes to give good governance. That candidate does not need fresh marketing at all. All we need is to present the candidate to Anambra people and he becomes acceptable. That is all! Are you saying those who have been there did not give governance a human face?

No that is not what I mean, what I am saying is that those who have been governor in the past and present did their best but Anambra North would do better. A good example is the incumbent, Mr. Peter Obi. Before it took me time to really understand his style of governance. But today you can agree with me that the governor has been able to put up good structures in governance. He has been able to open up places in Anambra State and that is to the credit of his administration.

He did not go to Government House to make trouble with people. Nobody can say that the governor had something personal with him or her. All that Obi is doing is for the better life of all and not for one individual or group. There is no community that has not felt the presence of governance under the regime of Mr. Peter obi and I salute him for that.

Are you saying this because he is supporting Anambra North for 2014?

Do not misunderstand me. He is not the only governor that did well in Anambra. All the past governors did their best in view of the circumstances that they found themselves and we congratulate them for that. I am not singling out Mr. Peter Obi. I only used him as a reference point and so it applies to others. That Peter Obi is supporting the power shift to Anambra North does not mean that I am praising him. So I wish to advise that people do not reduce this issue to mere child's play.

Looking at your political party, the PDP; do you think the crisis would better the agitations of Anambra North?

There is no political party that does not have cracks on its walls. As far as I am concerned, the Peoples Democratic Party is one and we do not have what people call factors. It is a large political party with people that have different shades of opinion and it is normal in a political or democratic set up.

People can disagree on issues but it does not mean that there are factors. Just as our faces are different so do our interests. But when we sit down to analyse issues, we end up harmonising everything and peace will reign. In the light of that, PDP can produce a candidate from Anambra North irrespective of the different shades of opinion as it were. However, I must point out that when the time comes you will come to terms with the true PDP that we have always had.

With other political parties in contention, what is the fate of Anambra North?

Very bright! Like I said before, everything will fall into place when the parties adopt our people as candidates. Possibly, from there, we the Anambra people will now agree on the next zone that will produce the governor after us. Also, I do not want to go into analysing political parties because I don't belong to those parties.

However, it is imperative to note that those in APGA, ANPP, ACN, Labour Party are first Anambra people before becoming party members. We cannot because of party differences throw away the collective wishes of our people. Once the issue of party politics comes in, then we have started to derail and it will not mean well for Anambra people.

You have been a member of the House of Representatives and also a senator, how do you access the National Assembly presently?

Well every National Assembly has its ups and downs and as a matter of fact, what was obtainable between 1999 and 2003 is different from what we have now. The political climate is not the same and the challenges are different. So there will not be any basis for comparison.

However, the National Assembly, since 1999 has tried its best. It is not easy to carry the problems of over 100 million people and its attendant challenges that go with it. I must also confess that our democracy has improved greatly and would also get better with time. I can also observe that the National Assembly and the Executive arm of government are indeed getting on well. Once in a while, there may be moment of differences and at the end of it, it is settled for better governance and moving the country forward. I must also congratulate my colleagues for soldiering on despite all odds. They have been able to address all issues constructively and to the best of their ability.

Currently, our country is going through trying times and President Goodluck Jonathan must be allowed to take his time in handling issues of great importance to our people. I do not accept that he's slow in the case of insecurity. Matters of this nature need caution and that is what he is doing; he cannot because of criticism take hasty decisions or make policy statement that we would later regret in a long run. I also have implicit confidence in the ability of Mr. President to salvage the problems of Nigeria and all its needs is patience for him to pull through.