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Obi Rebukes Leaders: Trillions for luxury, but libraries beg for charity
Former Anambra State Governor and 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi has sharply criticized the Nigerian government for its failure to complete the National Library in Abuja, describing the situation as an “indictment of our nation” amid lavish spending on luxuries.
In a statement released on Monday, Obi reacted to First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu’s recent appeal for well-wishers to donate toward the library’s completion instead of traditional birthday gifts like cakes or newspaper ads.
READ ALSO: First Lady Oluremi celebrates 65th birthday with heartfelt tribute from Tinubu
While acknowledging the gesture’s nobility, Obi argued that it underscores deeper systemic failures in governance.
“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 said.
Drawing from his own experience as governor, Obi recalled redirecting funds meant for advertisements toward educational infrastructure, such as computers for schools and classroom blocks.
He emphasized that such private initiatives were always intended to support, not supplant, government responsibilities.
“I recall that, as Governor of Anambra State, I too urged that money meant for adverts be channelled into meaningful causes—computers for schools and classroom blocks. Such gestures were never meant to replace the government’s duty but to complement it. The state still bore the responsibility of providing those essentials. That is why 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.
Obi questioned the state of a country that must “beg for charity to build the very temple of knowledge,” contrasting Nigeria’s priorities with those of “serious nations” that treat libraries as “sacred.”
“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? Serious nations treat libraries as sacred; but here we reduce them to afterthoughts, begging bowls, or birthday tokens,” Obi remarked.
He praised the First Lady’s recognition of education’s importance but lamented the disconnect between words and actions. “Mrs Tinubu was right: education is the most enduring legacy a nation can give its people. Yet to know this truth and still prioritise vanity is both shocking and tragic.”
Obi’s comments come amid ongoing debates about public spending in Nigeria, where critics have long accused the government of misallocating resources away from essential infrastructure. He called for a shift in focus to empower future generations through education, warning that true national progress depends on “the strength of minds formed in classrooms and nourished in libraries.”
“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,” Obi concluded.
The statement has sparked discussions on social media, with supporters hailing Obi’s candor and others defending the First Lady’s initiative as a positive example of philanthropy.
The National Library project, initiated decades ago, has faced repeated delays due to funding shortages, symbolizing broader challenges in Nigeria’s education sector.
Nafiu Bala Gombe, the man on whose behalf the African Democratic Congress (ADC), is currently in a prostrate state, has admitted to getting outside help in prosecuting his legal matters against the David Mark camp.
Recall that Mark, former Senate President and Rauf Aregbesola were, last week, derecognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and had their names struck out based on the case filed by Gombe on September 2, 2025.
The commission had relied on the pronouncement of the Court of Appeal, which ordered parties in the case to maintain status quo ante bellum, which it interpreted to mean that it should not deal with either side.
Against the backdrop of the dust the matter had raised across the country, the embattled ADC leadership, had accused the former Deputy Chairman of being sponsored by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to play the spoiler role to enable President Bola Tinubu have no challenge in the 2027 presidential election.
Bolaji Abdullahi, spokesman of the Mark camp, had last week, stated this much when he wondered how Gombe, who on his own could not afford an ordinary lawyer, going by his financial status, would now be hiring more than three Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) to represent him, which would probably run into tens of millions of naira.
Reacting on Tuesday, Gombe admitted getting outside help, but added that such assistance was not coming from government quarters or the APC, but from public-spirited individuals and Nigerians averse to the injustice being meted out to him.
Abimuku Monday, spokesman to Gombe, who spoke during an appearance on Morning Briefs, a breakfast programme on Channels Television, on Tuesday, told his host: “Before now, they were saying these people are big weights and we’re light weights. Now, we’re suddenly being seen as human beings. Earlier, we were seen as nobodies – as boys who don’t have capacity to challenge this in court.
“They say Nafiu Bala does not even have money to pursue his case. You see, that’s how they reduce people by their own estimation. They don’t find out who people. They have forgotten that for you to seek legal actions, there are so many ways to go about it.
“It is either you use your own money or your personal relationship with people. Does it mean that somebody in politics cannot have his own friends or cannot have lawyers as his friend or cannot have other members of the society as his friends.
“These are not members of the APC. They don’t belong to any party. They’re citizens of this country, who mean well for Nigeria. Nobody is scuttling the coalition. The fact remains that if you have a challenge, people will rally around you knowing it’s a good cause you’re fighting. People will rally around you to give you the necessary support that you need. They even called my principal a small boy.”
Serah Luca, a Christian woman, has returned N1 million she unknowingly took along with goods purchased from a trader at Terminus market in Jos, Plateau state capital.
Luca, a petty trader, reportedly said she made the purchase on Friday and only discovered the hidden cash after getting home.
She said her decision to return the money was driven by fear of God and her belief that she could not keep what did not belong to her, especially knowing the hardship that comes with losing money in business.
“I am a petty businesswoman. I know what it means to suffer loss. If I put that kind of money into my business, I believe God would punish me,” Daily Trust quoted her as saying.
The trader, Abubakar Dola, who deals in polythene bags at Terminus market, expressed surprise at the woman’s honesty, noting that he had no idea where the money went after mistakenly placing it inside the bag she bought.
Dola said he had planned to transfer the cash through a point of sales (POS) operator but became worried when he could not see the polythene bag where the money was kept.
“I mistakenly included it in what she bought. I didn’t realise until days later, and I had already given up hope. For her to return it after three days is remarkable. I pray Allah rewards her and gives us more people like her.”
“The entire country could be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night,” were the words with which US President Donald Trump, flashed the redlight signal over what could be the fate of Iran in the coming hours, after a month-old war, which saw leaders of the Islamic nation, all but totally obliterated.
The POTUS, who on Saturday, gave Iran 48 hours to to open the Strait of Hormuz to shipping traffic approaches, or comply or risk facing “hell,” later threatened that the US would blow up Iran’s power plants and bridges if Tehran failed to adhere to his warning.
However, in his latest threat on Monday, Trump told reporters that Iran had until Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET (1 am WAT) to make a deal, adding: “We have a plan, because of the power of our military, where every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o’clock tomorrow night, where every power plant in Iran will be out of business – burning, exploding and never to be used again, I mean complete demolition – by 12 o’clock. And it’ll happen over a period of four hours if we want it to. We don’t want that to happen.”
Nafiu Gombe: Yes, I have sponsors! *I can’t fight ADC big men alone!
Woman returns N1million discovered in purchased items to owner
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