Former Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi has said Nigeria adopted the often repeated refrain of his supporters, ‘Nigeria is finished’ in reaction to recent appeal by First Lady Oluremi Tinubu for donations towards completion of the National Library.
The First Lady who clocked 65 on Sunday had in an earlier statement urged her admirers to contribute to a fund for completion of National Library instead of placing adverts in national newspapers of buying gifts for her to celebrate her birthday.
But Obi while wishing the First Lady happy birthday on a post in his social media handles, said her request for donation for the completion of National Library was a confirmation of the lamentation that “Nigeria is finished.”
According to Obi, the request was an indictment of lack of attention to education by the Nigerian government.
“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.
“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,” Peter Obi said.
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.
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. 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.
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.
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.
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. -PO
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