Let me speak with clarity so nobody misinterprets anything. What we are doing here is not fight. It is not hatred. It is simply the duty that every responsible son and daughter owes their community.

I will address something many of you already know but are afraid to say. For years, some politicians in our land have claimed projects they did not initiate. Projects done by donors are claimed as constituency projects. Items donated by private individuals are counted as federal achievements. A contractor may do something from their own CSR and it suddenly becomes a politician’s personal glory.

This is why we insist on transparency. We cannot mix truth and exaggeration together. A community that closes its eyes will continue to walk in circles.

Let me also speak on this idea of defending everything blindly. Many of our people are defending political office holders not because the work is excellent, but because they have collected something small. A token here. A favour there. But the truth remains. A favour to one person is not development for a whole community.

It is painful that we have reached a point where any simple question becomes an offence. When did asking for transparency become a crime. When did development become something we must whisper about. When did politicians start acting like they are doing us personal favours with public funds.

Remember something. We know how much Abuja releases. We know how much Ekiti State allocates. We know what communities in other parts of Nigeria achieve with far less.

So the questions we ask are not out of ignorance. They come from knowledge. Exposure. Data. Experience.

Let me repeat the questions so nobody gets confused.

What exactly came to Ise from constituency funding

What projects were done from that money

How much did each project cost

Who executed it

Who benefited

What part of the work was done by government and what part was done by donors or individuals

These questions will not go away. Because the truth does not run.

I hear some people saying we should clap first. Clap for what exactly. For the things that were done by others but claimed by politicians. For gifts counted as development. For small efforts packaged as miracles. This is why the community continues to sink.

We do not want decoration. We want development. We do not want noise. We want evidence.

Let me also remind those who are shouting that people like us live abroad. Yes, we do. But that is exactly why we speak. Because we know what real development looks like. We know how systems work. We know what accountability means. And we know that our people deserve more than handouts wearing the costume of progress.

We do not ask for these things for ourselves. Most of our families live elsewhere. Our children are not depending on local facilities. We ask because those who remain at home deserve better. They deserve the things that other communities are enjoying from their own leaders.

Those who are defending mediocrity should understand something important. You are not helping your political masters. You are exposing them. A strong leader does not hide behind media aides. A strong leader welcomes scrutiny. A good leader allows the people to check the books, inspect the projects, and verify claims.

As Bob Marley said, you can fool some people sometimes, but you can’t fool all the people all the time. The days when politicians controlled the narrative with small gifts are ending. Our people are waking up.

We have demanded accountability from the Senator. From the Honourable Member. From the Local Government. From everyone representing us. Nobody is singled out. This is not personal to any office holder. This is a new culture of truth for Ise and Orun. It is our right under the constitution to ask for how public funds are used.

To those who think somebody wants to contest, let me say this clearly. Ambition is not a crime. Every leader today once contested. But today is not about politics. It is about accountability. It is about the future of our children. It is about the dignity of our town.

Write a hundred messages against me. It does not change the truth. Those who live in Ise know what is happening. They know the roads. They know the schools. They know the hospitals. They know the darkness at night. They know the difference between progress and packaging.

The era of silence is gone. The era of accountability has started. The era of community first has arrived.

May truth guide us.

May courage strengthen us.

May development finally meet us.

God bless Ise

God bless Orun

God bless every honest son and daughter of this land

Ambassador Tosin Michael Owonifari

Proud Son of Ise Ekiti and General Secretary of Ekiti Parapo in UK