Labour Party’s former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has faulted First Lady Oluremi Tinubu’s birthday request that well-wishers donate funds to complete the National Library in Abuja.
Obi described the call as a sad reflection of Nigeria’s misplaced priorities and government failure.
In a post on X, the former Anambra governor first extended birthday wishes to Mrs. Tinubu, praying for long life and good health. But he quickly turned to the irony of her request.
Obi said that while the First Lady’s appeal looked “noble and selfless on the surface,” it was embarrassing that a nation of Nigeria’s size would rely on birthday donations to finish its national library.
“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,” Obi wrote.
The Labour Party stalwart stressed that education and knowledge hubs should never be treated as charity cases.
He argued that no serious country reduces libraries to afterthoughts while leaders waste trillions on luxury.
“What kind of leaders waste trillions on luxury and vanity, while the National Library our intellectual furnace remains abandoned in the capital?” he asked.
“Serious nations treat libraries as sacred; but here we reduce them to birthday tokens.”
Obi warned that Nigeria’s future depends on investing in education rather than luxury projects.
According to him, a country rises on “the strength of minds formed in classrooms and nourished in libraries, not on the wings of private jets or the splendour of mansions.”
He ended his post with a sharp verdict: “Until then, the lament remains true we are finished.”
The remarks have sparked fresh debate about government spending and education neglect, with many Nigerians echoing Obi’s concerns online.