We Are Finished’ — Peter Obi Slams Remi Tinubu’s Birthday Donation Appeal for National Library

Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has sharply criticised First Lady Oluremi Tinubu’s birthday appeal for donations toward completing the National Library in Abuja, describing it as a tragic reflection of misplaced government priorities.

Mrs Tinubu, while marking her birthday on Sunday, urged well-wishers to donate to the library project instead of spending on cakes or newspaper adverts.

Reacting via his X handle, Obi described the request as “noble and selfless on the surface” but argued it exposes the government’s failure to perform its duties.

“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.

The former Anambra governor said education and knowledge infrastructure should be sacred to any serious nation. Instead, he lamented, Nigeria has reduced the National Library to an afterthought, dependent on charity and symbolic gestures.

“What kind of leaders waste trillions on luxury and vanity, while the National Library — our intellectual furnace — remains abandoned in the capital?” he asked.

While extending birthday wishes to the First Lady, Obi stressed that Nigeria’s progress depends on prioritising education over “luxury and vanity projects.”

Political observers say Obi’s intervention highlights growing frustrations over government spending habits at a time when millions of Nigerians are grappling with economic hardship.