{"id":122453,"date":"2025-09-23T21:15:14","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T20:15:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=122453"},"modified":"2025-09-23T21:15:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T20:15:14","slug":"first-lady-raises-%e2%82%a620-45bn-to-revive-national-library-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/exclusive\/first-lady-raises-%e2%82%a620-45bn-to-revive-national-library-project\/","title":{"rendered":"First Lady Raises \u20a620.45bn to Revive National Library Project"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By Oscar Okhifo<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Nigeria\u2019s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has raised \u20a620.45 billion to complete the long-abandoned National Library project in Abuja, a move that has drawn both praises and criticisms from eminent Nigerians.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Marking her 65th birthday on September 18, Mrs. Tinubu launched the \u201cOluremi@65 Education Fund\u201d in place of a lavish celebration, urging friends, associates, and corporate bodies to donate towards reviving the stalled library. Within days, contributions swelled to \u20a620,456,188,924.93, with more pledges expected before the fund closes in December 2025.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In her remarks, the First Lady expressed heartfelt gratitude to those who supported her vision, singling out President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima and his wife Nana, former First Ladies, National Assembly leaders, several state governors, and traditional rulers.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She also hailed business moguls such as Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Abdul Samad Rabiu, Tony Elumelu and Dr. Jim Ovia, alongside ex-militant leader Chief Government Ekpemupolo (Tompolo), for what she described as \u201csacrificial giving\u201d toward a project that belongs to all Nigerians.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0She pledged that the names of every donor, large and small, would be published in national newspapers \u201cfor the sake of transparency and accountability.\u201d<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, the fundraising drive has not escaped criticism. Labour Party\u2019s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, while appreciating Mrs. Tinubu\u2019s goodwill, wondered aloud why a national project had been reduced to the First Lady\u2019s pet project, describing the intervention as further evidence of \u201cgovernance failure.\u201d<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0Similarly, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) cautioned the First Lady against turning a federal institution into a personal initiative, arguing that the completion of the National Library should have been a straightforward government responsibility.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Responding to such criticisms, Mrs. Tinubu insisted her actions were guided strictly by patriotism and her passion for education, not politics.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cMy only desire is to see Nigeria\u2019s knowledge repository completed for the sake of future generations,\u201d she said, stressing that her intervention was born out of love for learning and not tailored to politics.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The National Library headquarters project , conceived in 1981 and awarded in 2006, has languished in abandonment for nearly two decades.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0Despite heavy public spending, the structure remains incomplete, a testament to Nigeria\u2019s culture of waste.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">While the \u20a620.45 billion haul provides fresh hope of finishing the library, it also leaves behind uncomfortable questions: if Nigerians can raise billions in days for a birthday appeal, why has their government failed to deliver on one of its most important cultural and educational institutions for almost 20 years?<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Oscar Okhifo Nigeria\u2019s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has raised \u20a620.45 billion to complete the long-abandoned National Library project in Abuja, a move that has drawn both praises and&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-122453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - 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