Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 general election has criticized First Lady Oluremi Tinubu’s proposal that birthday well-wishers give to the completion of the National Library in Abuja, calling it an indictment of Nigerian government objectives.
Obi wrote on his X account on Sunday that while the First Lady’s request appeared “noble and selfless on the surface,” it highlighted the government’s failure to fulfill its responsibilities.
“I join millions of Nigerians in wishing Her Excellency, Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu, a happy birthday. May God Almighty, who has been with her all these years, grant her many more healthy, fruitful, and happy years,” Obi wrote.
“However, I was struck by irony reading her request: that instead of cakes or newspaper adverts, well-wishers should donate toward completing the National Library in Abuja.”
Obi mentioned that a nation should not rely on charity to build “the very temple of knowledge” while its leaders spend lavishly on luxuries.
“It is shocking that, in our present circumstances, while billions are easily found for jets, yachts, unused mansions, endless trips abroad, and other frivolities, the nation must rely on birthday donations to complete its own National Library,” he stated.
The former Anambra governor also stated that such priorities highlight a tragic neglect of education.
He said, “What kind of leaders waste trillions on luxury and vanity, while the National Library—our intellectual furnace—remains abandoned in the capital? Serious nations treat libraries as sacred, but here we reduce them to afterthoughts, begging bowls, or birthday tokens.”
Obi concluded that Nigeria’s progress depends on investing in education rather than projects of no importance.
“If Nigeria will rise, it will not be on the wings of jets or the splendor of mansions, but on the strength of minds formed in classrooms and nourished in libraries. Until then, the lament remains true—we are finished,” he declared.
