Former Anambra State governor and 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, has criticized the request made by Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, during her recent birthday celebration.

Senator Tinubu had asked well-wishers to forgo gifts and newspaper adverts, instead urging them to contribute towards the completion of the long-abandoned National Library in Abuja.

Obi, however, expressed dismay over the appeal, arguing that it was unacceptable for a country like Nigeria to depend on birthday donations to complete such a vital national institution. He lamented that while huge sums are regularly spent on luxury items such as jets, yachts, mansions, and foreign trips, critical infrastructure like the National Library remains neglected.

In a statement titled “We Are Finished” shared on X, Obi congratulated the First Lady on her birthday but condemned the irony of her request. He said:

“We are finished! 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.”

Obi recalled that as governor, he had also encouraged people to redirect advert funds toward meaningful projects such as equipping schools. But he stressed that such gestures were never meant to replace the core responsibilities of government.

He questioned why, in today’s Nigeria, the government can quickly allocate billions for luxuries but must now rely on birthday donations to finish a national treasure like the library.

“What kind of country must beg for charity to build the very temple of knowledge? What kind of leaders waste trillions on vanity while our National Library remains abandoned? Serious nations treat libraries as sacred; here, we reduce them to birthday tokens,” Obi said.

He acknowledged Mrs. Tinubu’s statement that education is the most enduring legacy but criticized the contradiction of knowing this truth while still prioritizing vanity.

Obi concluded that Nigeria’s future lies not in extravagance but in education:

“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.”