“What kind of country begs for charity to build library” – Obi slams FG over misplaced priorities
Peter Obi, former presidential candidate, has criticised the federal government for leaving the national library uncompleted while billions are spent on luxuries and foreign trips.
Obi made the remarks on Sunday in reaction to a birthday message from the first lady, Oluremi Tinubu, who had urged friends and supporters to donate toward finishing the library in Abuja.
“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?” he asked.
The former Anambra governor acknowledged the First Lady’s call as noble but described it as an indictment of Nigeria’s governance.
According to him, such appeals should not replace government’s constitutional duty to provide education infrastructure.
“As governor, I once asked that adverts for my birthday be turned into classroom blocks and computers for schools.
“But the state still bore the responsibility of funding education. That is why it is shocking that today, we must rely on birthday donations to complete the National Library,” he noted.
Obi argued that serious nations treat libraries as sacred spaces for learning, while Nigeria reduces them to “afterthoughts, begging bowls, or birthday tokens.”
He further said the country’s misplaced priorities undermine the future of its young population. The Labour Party 2023 presidential flagbearer concluded his criticism with a stark warning, hoping that the federal government priorities would change.
“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,” Obi added.
