Former Anambra State Governor and 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has condemned the state of Nigeria’s priorities following First Lady Oluremi Tinubu’s 65th birthday request.
While joining Nigerians to wish Mrs. Tinubu a happy birthday, Obi noted her request that well-wishers donate towards the completion of the long-abandoned National Library project in Abuja instead of spending on cakes and newspaper adverts.
He described the appeal as noble on the surface but a sad reflection of Nigeria’s governance.
The former governor recalled that during his tenure in Anambra, he had encouraged citizens to redirect money meant for congratulatory adverts towards meaningful projects like school computers and classroom blocks.
However, he stressed that such gestures were only meant to complement, not replace, the government’s responsibilities.
He lamented that a project as crucial as the National Library, described as the “intellectual furnace” of the country, has been left neglected for years, while leaders prioritise luxury and vanity.
The Labour Party chieftain acknowledged Senator Tinubu’s point that education is the most enduring legacy a nation can give its people. However, he described it as “both shocking and tragic” that leaders know this truth yet fail to act on it.
He wrote:
“We Are Finished!
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.
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. On the surface, it is noble and selfless. But beneath it lies an indictment of our nation.
I recall that, as Governor of Anambra State, I too urged that money meant for adverts be channelled into meaningful causes—computers for schools and classroom blocks. Such gestures were never meant to replace the government’s duty but to complement it. The state still bore the responsibility of providing those essentials. That is why 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.
What kind of country must beg for charity to build the very temple of knowledge? 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.
Mrs Tinubu was right: education is the most enduring legacy a nation can give its people. Yet to know this truth and still prioritise vanity is both shocking and tragic.
If Nigeria will rise, it will not be on the wings of jets or the splendour of mansions, but on the strength of minds formed in classrooms and nourished in libraries. Until then, the lament remains true—we are finished. -PO”
