Former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has criticised First Lady Oluremi Tinubu’s request that birthday well-wishers donate toward completing the National Library in Abuja, describing it as an indictment of Nigeria’s leadership priorities.

In a post on his X account on Sunday, Obi said while the First Lady’s appeal was “noble and selfless on the surface,” it exposed the failure of government to fulfill its responsibilities.

“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,” Obi wrote.

“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.”

Obi argued that a nation should not rely on charity to build “the very temple of knowledge” while its leaders spend lavishly on luxuries.

“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,” he stated.

The former Anambra governor added that such priorities highlight a tragic neglect of education.

He said, “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 concluded that Nigeria’s progress depends on investing in education rather than vanity projects.

“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,” he declared.