Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, has criticised Nigeria’s leadership priorities, describing the country’s reliance on birthday donations to complete its National Library as “shocking and tragic.”
In a statement posted late Sunday, September 21, on his official X handle, Obi began by felicitating First Lady Oluremi Tinubu on her birthday, before turning attention to her call for well-wishers to donate toward the completion of the long-abandoned National Library project in Abuja.
“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, 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 argued that while the gesture was well-intentioned, it underscored the government’s failure to prioritise education.
He recalled similar efforts during his time as governor of Anambra State, but stressed that government must bear the ultimate responsibility of providing essential infrastructure.
“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,” he said.
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“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 described the situation as a national embarrassment, contrasting Nigeria’s misplaced priorities with how serious countries treat education.
“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 declared.
He praised Mrs Tinubu for recognising the central role of education, but questioned why such acknowledgement has not translated into government action.
“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,” Obi said.
He concluded with a stark warning about Nigeria’s future if leaders continue to undermine education.
“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,” he wrote.