By Sesi Noah Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has criticised First Lady Oluremi Tinubu’s call for her birthday well-w...
By Sesi Noah
In a post on his X handle on Sunday, Obi said that while Mrs Tinubu’s gesture might appear “noble and selfless,” it exposes the government’s failure to take responsibility for such an essential project.
He wrote, I join millions of Nigerians in wishing Her Excellency, Mrs Oluremi Tinubu, a happy birthday. May God continue to grant her long life, good health, and joy. But I couldn’t help noticing the irony in her request—that instead of cakes or newspaper adverts, people should contribute money to finish the National Library in Abuja.
Obi stressed that it is shameful for a nation to depend on charity to build what he called the temple of knowledge, while its leaders spend recklessly on luxuries.
It is shocking that in this country, where billions are easily found for private jets, yachts, mansions, and endless trips abroad, the government now expects citizens to foot the bill for the National Library, he said.
The former Anambra governor lamented what he described as a tragic neglect of education, saying:
What kind of leadership squanders trillions on vanity projects, while the National Library—our intellectual furnace—lies abandoned? In serious countries, libraries are treated as sacred. Here, we reduce them to an afterthought, a begging bowl, or even a birthday token.
Obi concluded by insisting that Nigeria’s future depends on prioritising education over extravagance.
If this country will rise, it won’t be because of jets or mansions, but through strong minds shaped in classrooms and nurtured in libraries. Until we get that right, the sad truth remains—we are finished.
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