The Eselu of Iselu Kingdom in Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State, Oba Akintunde Akinyemi, has urged residents to reject politicians who fail to respond to their calls and messages.
Akinyemi said effective communication between public office holders and citizens was essential to maintaining trust, transparency and accountability in governance.
According to The Punch, the monarch, in a statement on Sunday, warned that when leaders become inaccessible, the situation could create an “information vacuum” that encourages suspicion, misinformation and conspiracy theories.
“When a public office holder fails to communicate with his/her people, such an action causes a dangerous information vacuum that destroys public trust, breeds misinformation, and paralyses governance,” he said.
He said citizens who could not reach their leaders might begin to question their motives, while silence from public officials could be interpreted as an indication that they were concealing wrongdoing.
The monarch also warned that poor communication could worsen emergencies by creating panic, escalating crises and reducing public compliance with government directives.
He maintained that responding to calls and messages should be considered a basic responsibility for anyone holding or seeking public office.
“Without mincing words, the habit of responding to calls and messages is a key responsibility of any public office holder; hence, any public office holder or party’s candidate who makes him/herself incommunicado does not deserve the votes of Ogun traditional rulers or the votes of the entire citizens of Ogun State,” Akinyemi said.
He urged traditional rulers, chiefs, politicians, civil society organisations and voters in Ogun State to take the issue seriously, particularly ahead of future elections.
“My candid advice to co-traditional rulers, chiefs, politicians and electorate in Ogun State, including civil society organisations, is that we should not vote for any governorship candidates or politicians seeking governorship or any elective positions, no matter their social status, who do not pick up calls or respond to messages of the citizens they desire to lead,” he said.
Akinyemi added that voting against politicians who deliberately shut out citizens would send a strong message to public office holders and political candidates about the importance of remaining accessible to the people.
