Mrs. Tepikor Anastasia
was the candidate of the National Conscience Party (NCP) in the April, 2015 governorship election in Rivers State. Mrs. Tepikor is also the state chairman of the NCP. Now she serves as a caretaker committee member in Oyigbo Local Government Area.
Opaka Dokubo met with her in Port Harcourt and she spoke about her ambition to be governor, her service at the local government council and other political developments in Rivers State and Nigeria at large.
Excerpts
Why take up both positions as chairman and governorship candidate of the party?
People actually indicated interest to fly the flag of the party in the governorship election but I took it upon myself to consider what they were up to. If I interviewed you and saw you were not up to any business and the you really wanted to contest, you really wanted to win, nothing stopped me from giving you the ticket. I tried as many that came who wanted the ticket of the party and I asked them to find out their vision for Rivers State, what they wanted to do for the state or they just wanted the ticket to go and look for settlement. I discovered many were not serious.
We decided as a party that anyone that must run on our platform must see it as an opportunity to serve and not to be selfish. That was why at the final moment, I decided to take it up. I also believe that what a man can do, a woman can do better.
So, how did the election go for you?
I thank God, first and foremost because if you have not been involved in something, you may not have what to say about it. My involvement was not a mistake neither is it something to regret about.
I tried and  I thank God. It is not everyone that will  win at the same time. That I did not win did not mean the end to life. I think there are other areas that I can be of assistance to society and I should focus on that.
Someone must emerge winner and once that happens, there shouldn’t be problems because no matter how many times you do it, only one person will emerge winner at a time, someone has emerged and we thank God for that.. what I think is needed of everyone else is to rally round and support His Excellency.
I didn’t take it as a do-or-die affair from the beginning but if I had decided that I want to die for it based on certain statements I may have made, indeed I would want to die with the outcome. But it is selfishness that will make someone to say I want to die over an issue that you know that it is people who give the mandate. If you know that it is the people who give the mandate and they did not give to you this time, it does not mean that they would not give to you next time.
What is your own take about the conduct and outcome of that election?
See, I am a Christian, I don’t believe anyone can achieve and sustain anything with his strength. The Bible says “the arm of flesh fails”. So, if your trust is on God, then you will wait on God and if He wants you to be, one day you will be. Whatever God has not given to you, you cannot take it upon yourself.
Coming back to what you have asked, some people say the election process was marred, it was flawed.
The election took place and I voted in my area. In fact, I was the first to vote in my unit. As a candidate, I was given that opportunity and it was peaceful.
One thing is certain, there is no election, whether in Nigeria, Africa or any other part of the world that is free of issues. If that be so, then ours should not be seen as out of place.
I know that gradually we will overcome the challenges that come with elections because I know that the last election was an improvement on previous ones. The difference is clear and it is obvious that we’re maturing. I am looking forward to the future when we will embrace electronic voting system where you vote with your system and it captures you, one man one vote. With that one, no one can rig.
But for now, the system is not so adequate for us not to observe the challenges that we have, they will happen.
Did anybody or party induce you to take that outcome of the election the way you have taken it?
Nobody lured or induced me with anything. Who doesn’t want a good thing anyway? If I had emerged as governor today, infact, my rapport  with you will be a different one, it will not be at this level. I would have  loved  it.
Truth is that if you were not serious from the outset, you would not be expectant. People often asked me “madam, what if you win” and I had always said “that’s what I’m expecting”.  If I don’t have the mind of going to win, why should I come out in the first place?
Nobody settled me and nobody lured me into acceptance of any settlement. I came out believing that it will work out the way I wanted but since it didn’t work out, I shouldn’t be fighting. As I said earlier, in the end, we should be looking forward to how we can make the state work in which ever way we can be of service. And that is way we have said to his excellency “you have tried, you won’. Of course, somebody must win. The tradition in other spheres is that when somebody wins, others go round to congratulate the person and if this happens elsewhere, it should happen in politics too.
In the event of a governorship re run, would still be part of it?
When we get to that bridge we will cross it. I want to be silent about that for now. But let me use the opportunity to clear the air about the appointment I have to serve at the local government as a member of the caretaker committee. That appointment was given to me in my capacity as the chairman of my party in the state. Many state party chairmen were so appointed and I appreciate that.
How do you feel being a member of a local government caretaker committee when you wanted to be Governor?
I will still come back to tell you the God factor. If you don’t have God settled in your heart, you will never be at peace, you’ll never be contented. It is that discontentment that makes people to fight and kill themselves.  It you are a peace loving person, you will not allow people to die because you want to be there. If it is about the people, then it must not be about you. It must not be about you at the detriment of the people you want to serve.
If it is really about service that made you come out in the first place, then you should be ready and willing to serve at whatever level even as a cobbler or whatever. I believe that whatever I am given, I should do it well. God knows how to promote me from there. It is God that makes people.  I am looking forward to a bigger position.
Is your governorship ambition forgotten or is it still alive?
My governorship ambition is very much alive. Just as you asked, how do you reconcile a situation where someone who wants to be a governor takes up a position as a caretaker committee member of a local government, sometimes I also reason like that too. But as I told you, I have peace.
If you look at human reasoning, you will think and get worried over things. But God sees your heart and He knows what you really want and He knows how to take you there. It doesn’t matter how He goes about it. I think I am happy the way I am and happy that I am moving forward. There is nothing that cannot happen. I still have that ambition. I am working and packaging myself.
What would be your recipe for acceptable legislative rerun elections in Rivers State?
I will like to tell everyone to have a mind that is settled. This coming elections will not be a do-or-die affair. If that is settled, people will know that their votes will count. One thing I want to advise is that they should take away the mind of winning at all cost. I insist that the huge presence of the military during election scares people and it doesn’t make the process free because some people will not come out at all to vote.
The presence of the military or the prevalence of force also sometimes brings out what is latent in people. Many times, someone who is criminally minded may not wake up to it until an atmosphere is created for it. The presence of force all over the place may make others to also want to use violence. That is the angle I am looking at it. I pray that coming elections will be free of violence.
I think that if Rivers State is relatively free of the heavy presence of the military, everyone will be encouraged to go out and vote. That does not mean there should not be security made available. But such security that will become a threat is no more security and as such should be reduced. Looking at what happened in Bayelsa and the rest, it is very likely that too much military presence will affect the electoral process negatively.
What is the position of your party on this fight against corruption so far?
This is my opinion as chairman of the party in the state because I will not speak for my national headquarters: Naturally I hate corruption and that’s the reason I joined the NCP in the first place. NCP is known to have a very high integrity especially when we had our founder, the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi.  He was  somebody that had integrity and didn’t like corruption.
It is true that corruption has eaten deep  into the fabric of our nation and if someone has come to say he wants to fight corruption it is not a bad thing. But how do you fight and whom do you fight is the next question.
The only challenge I have with this issue of corruption being fought by our president is that  it seems skewed. Charity, they say, should begin from your own home. When you begin from there, then people will take you more seriously.
I go back to the Bible which says that judgment will start from the church. Whenever I see my children and others doing wrong, I usually begin with my children to set example for the others. That is how it should be. On this issue of fight against corruption in Nigeria, I will speak out loud to say that it is skewed, it is biased kind off. Look at the people that have been really dealt with, it has just been one sided and that is not a good way of fighting corruption. If you must fight corruption, let it touch every angle. I am not happy about this selective fight against corruption.
And what’s your take on the military operations against suspected criminals in Rivers State?
Again the question is how? Fight against crime and criminals is a welcome development anywhere because we need peace and security. But how do you go about this? Prior to this time we’ve never had a situation where the federal authorities will give instruction and before you know it, security men will invade everywhere. Indeed, if it is the federal government that is doing this,, permit me to say that it is very bad. I think that anything that has to do with the security of the state should come from the state. This very one that is happening is very political and it is not too good. Even when the situation was intolerable, we did not experience it this way. If it is a security matter, they should go after them but not individual men that are politicians that should be hunted.

Mrs. Tepikor Anastasia