Former presidential candidate Peter Obi has criticized First Lady Remi Tinubu’s request for Nigerians to donate toward completing the National Library in Abuja instead of giving her birthday gifts, describing the appeal as evidence of misplaced government priorities.
The First Lady had asked well-wishers to channel their birthday celebration gestures toward the completion of the National Library project rather than purchasing cakes or newspaper advertisements. While acknowledging the nobility of her request, Obi argued that it exposes fundamental problems with Nigeria’s governance approach.
In a statement posted on social media, Obi expressed his birthday wishes for the First Lady while questioning why a national institution should depend on private donations for completion. He drew from his experience as Governor of Anambra State, where he similarly encouraged redirecting advertisement funds toward educational projects, but emphasized that such gestures were meant to complement, not replace, government responsibilities.
“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,” Obi wrote.
However, he expressed concern about the underlying implications of the request. “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,” he stated.
The former Anambra governor highlighted what he sees as contradictory spending priorities within the current administration. “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,” Obi wrote.
He questioned the appropriateness of seeking charitable contributions for national infrastructure while government resources are allocated to what he characterized as luxury expenditures. “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?” he asked.
Obi emphasized the importance of libraries in national development, arguing that serious nations treat such institutions as sacred rather than reducing them to what he termed “afterthoughts, begging bowls, or birthday tokens.”
The former presidential candidate acknowledged that the First Lady correctly identified education as a nation’s most enduring legacy, but criticized what he sees as a disconnect between this recognition and actual government spending priorities. “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,” he stated.
Drawing a broader conclusion about national development priorities, Obi argued that Nigeria’s progress depends more on educational infrastructure than luxury acquisitions. “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,” he wrote.
His criticism reflects ongoing debates about government spending priorities and the completion of long-delayed public projects. The National Library project has faced funding challenges and construction delays, making it a symbol of broader infrastructure completion issues facing the country.
