Former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi has responded to First Lady Oluremi Tinubu’s birthday request for donations to complete the National Library.
The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, in a statement he personally signed on Monday called the situation an “indictment of our nation.”
The Port City News earlier reported that Mrs Tinubu marked her birthday on Sunday and received wishes from politicians and well meaning Nigerians.
Obi extended his birthday wishes to Mrs. Tinubu but expressed his dismay at the government’s apparent reliance on public charity for a critical national project.
The 64-year-old drew a parallel to his time as governor, when he similarly requested donations for educational causes.
He emphasised that those gestures were intended to supplement, not replace, the government’s core responsibility to provide essential services.
He found it “shocking” that the government could easily fund “jets, yachts, unused mansions, endless trips abroad, and other frivolities” while a crucial project like the National Library remains incomplete.
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“What kind of country must beg for charity to build the very temple of knowledge?” Obi questioned.
He stated that while serious nations regard libraries as sacred institutions, Nigeria has reduced them to “afterthoughts, begging bowls, or birthday tokens.”
Obi agreed with the First Lady’s sentiment that education is the most lasting legacy a nation can leave for its people, but he found it “shocking and tragic” that this truth is not reflected in the government’s priorities.
He expressed a somber reflection, stating that Nigeria’s progress will depend on the strength of its people’s minds, not on luxury.
Until then, he lamented, “the lament remains true—we are finished.”
