“We’re Finished” – Peter Obi Reacts to First Lady’s Birthday Request

• Peter Obi has reacted to First Lady Oluremi Tinubu’s request that well-wishers donate toward completing the National Library in Abuja for her birthday.

• While praising her selflessness, Obi described the appeal as an indictment of Nigeria, arguing that a nation where leaders lavish billions on luxury should not depend on birthday donations to fund education.

Former presidential candidate Peter Obi has expressed deep concern over Nigeria’s priorities following a birthday request made by the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu.

In a statement shared via his official X handle, Obi congratulated Mrs. Tinubu on her birthday, praying for her health and long life. However, he described her unusual appeal — that well-wishers should donate toward the completion of the National Library in Abuja instead of placing adverts or organizing celebrations — as both noble and troubling.

Obi argued that while her request reflected selflessness, it was also an indictment of Nigeria as a nation. According to him, a country where billions are wasted on luxury, vanity, and frivolities should not be relying on birthday donations to complete a vital institution like the National Library.

He recalled that during his tenure as Governor of Anambra State, he encouraged supporters to divert money for newspaper adverts toward more meaningful causes such as building classrooms and purchasing computers. But he emphasized that such gestures were never intended to replace government’s duty to provide essential infrastructure.

Obi lamented that despite Nigeria’s vast resources, the country still struggles to complete its own National Library while leaders spend heavily on private jets, mansions, and foreign trips. He stressed that serious nations treat libraries as sacred, yet in Nigeria they are reduced to afterthoughts, begging bowls, or birthday causes.

Quoting Mrs. Tinubu’s recognition of education as the most enduring legacy, Obi insisted that the government must live up to this truth rather than shifting responsibility to private citizens.

“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 declared, concluding with a somber warning: “Until then, the lament remains true — we are finished.”