Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, has reacted to the birthday message of the First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, describing it as a reflection of Nigeria’s misplaced priorities.
Obi, in a statement on Sunday, joined Nigerians in wishing the First Lady well on her new age, praying for her continued health and happiness.
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However, he expressed shock at her call for well-wishers to donate toward the completion of the National Library in Abuja instead of spending money on cakes or newspaper adverts.
“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,” Obi said.
The former Anambra State governor noted that while he once encouraged people to channel funds for adverts into meaningful causes, such efforts were meant to complement government’s responsibility, not replace it.
“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,” he said.
Obi lamented the neglect of education and national infrastructure, stressing that the abandonment of the National Library was a symbol of leadership failure.
“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.”
He noted that Nigeria’s rise will depend not on material extravagance but on investment in education and knowledge.
“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.”