By John Ogunsemore
Copyright thesun
By John Ogunsemore
Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi has expressed dismay over First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu’s birthday request.
Mrs Tinubu, who clocked 65 on Sunday, had asked anyone interested in showering her with birthday gifts or newspaper adverts to redirect such funds towards the completion of the National Library in Abuja.
In a Monday statement shared on X, Obi took exception to her request, saying it was an indictment of the nation.
In his statement titled ‘We Are Finished!’ 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.”
The former Anambra governor recalled making a similar request during his tenure: that money meant for adverts be channelled into meaningful causes, including computers for schools and classroom blocks.
However, he said, “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.”
Obi emphasised that Nigeria cannot rise “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 added.