By: Chioma Madonna Ndukwu
Obi Blasts Remi Tinubu’s Birthday Appeal as a National Disgrace
Peter Obi has faulted First Lady Oluremi Tinubu’s 65th birthday request, calling it a painful reminder of Nigeria’s misplaced priorities.
Mrs Tinubu had urged friends and supporters to channel funds for gifts or newspaper adverts into completing the stalled National Library project in Abuja.
In a statement posted on X on Monday and titled “We Are Finished!”, the former Labour Party presidential candidate said the appeal, though appearing selfless, only exposed the government’s failure.
Obi recalled making a similar appeal while governor of Anambra—asking that money for adverts be redirected to schools and community projects. But he insisted such gestures were meant to complement government responsibility, not replace it.
“What is shocking,” Obi wrote, “is that in today’s Nigeria billions are freely spent on jets, yachts, abandoned mansions and endless foreign trips, yet we must rely on birthday donations to finish the National Library.”
He described the project as the country’s “intellectual furnace” and questioned why its completion had been reduced to an act of charity.
“Serious nations treat libraries as sacred. Here, they are reduced to begging bowls,” he said. “Nigeria will not rise on vanity and luxury, but on classrooms and libraries. Until then, the lament stands—we are finished.”
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