Peter Obi Criticises Remi Tinubu’s Birthday Appeal As Symbol Of Leadership Failures

Peter Obi Criticises Remi Tinubu’s Birthday Appeal As Symbol Of Leadership Failures

Peter Obi, former Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, has criticised First Lady Oluremi Tinubu’s call for birthday well-wishers to donate toward completing the National Library in Abuja, calling it a reflection of misguided leadership priorities in Nigeria.

In a Sunday post on his X account, Obi acknowledged that while the First Lady’s request appeared noble and selfless, it revealed the government’s failure to adequately fulfill its duties. He extended birthday wishes to Mrs Tinubu, praying for her continued health and happiness.

Obi expressed surprise at her appeal for donations instead of traditional birthday celebrations like cakes or adverts, pointing out the irony in needing charity to finish such a key national institution. He emphasized that a country should not depend on public generosity to build crucial centers of knowledge while leaders indulge in extravagant spending.

He condemned the prioritisation of luxury expenditures on jets, yachts, unused mansions, and foreign trips over essential educational infrastructure, describing this as a tragic disregard for education.

Obi said that wasting billions on vanity while neglecting the National Library, “our intellectual furnace,” showed a severe lack of seriousness. He stressed how developed nations honor libraries as sacred, whereas in Nigeria they are treated as afterthoughts or mere requests tied to personal celebrations.

Obi insisted that Nigeria’s advancement relies on investments in education and intellectual development, not on ostentatious displays of wealth, warning that without this shift, the country’s decline will continue.