By Chibuike Nwabuko
ABUJA (PRECISE POST) – In a slamming commentary wrapped around a birthday message, former presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi has issued a blistering indictment of Nigeria’s leadership, saying the country is “finished” if it must rely on birthday donations to complete its National Library.
Obi was responding against the backdrop of First Lady Oluremi Tinubu’s 65th birthday request that well-wishers donate to the abandoned National Library project instead of buying cakes or newspaper adverts. While he acknowledged the gesture as “noble and selfless” on the surface, Obi said it exposed a tragic failure of governance.
“What kind of country must beg for charity to build the very temple of knowledge?” Obi asked. “What kind of leaders waste trillions on luxury and vanity, while the National Library – our intellectual furnace, remains abandoned in the capital?”
Obi, who served as Governor of Anambra State, drew a stark contrast between complementary philanthropy and abdication of responsibility. He noted that while in office, he urged citizens to direct goodwill funds toward schools and infrastructure, but never as a substitute for government duties.
“Such gestures were never meant to replace the government’s duty but to complement it. The state still bore the responsibility,” he said.
Precise Post recalls that Obi’s criticism comes at a time when billions are reportedly being spent on presidential jets, lavish international trips, and opulent government properties, while critical infrastructure like the National Library remains incomplete decades after its initiation.
“Serious nations treat libraries as sacred. But here, we reduce them to afterthoughts, begging bowls, or birthday tokens,” Obi said, painting a grim picture of misplaced national priorities.
Reinforcing the First Lady’s own admission that education is the most enduring legacy a country can offer, Obi warned that Nigeria’s future depends not on elite extravagance but on intellectual development.
“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,” he declared.
The former governor concluded with a stark verdict on the state of the nation:
“Until then, the lament remains true – we are finished.”
