Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has dismissed claims that her 65th birthday fundraiser for the completion of the long-delayed National Library project was politically driven.
According to her, the initiative has already raised N20.7 billion and is solely focused on advancing education and national development.
During a luncheon with journalists at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, the First Lady explained that the Oluremi@65 Education Fund account will remain open until December 2025, giving Nigerians across all sectors the opportunity to contribute.
Encouraging Nigerians to embrace collective responsibility, she quoted Lebanese poet Gebran Khalil Gebran, saying: “A grain of sand and a drop of water makes a mighty ocean.” She emphasized that every citizen has a role to play in nation-building.
Oluremi Tinubu said her inspiration comes from her years as a teacher and the value she personally gained from libraries during her formative years. She rejected insinuations that her project was politically calculated.
“What is wrong in doing good or seeking to build our country? If I could support Liberia’s post-war rebuilding by donating schools, what is wrong in drawing attention to a critical need here in Nigeria?” she asked.
The First Lady highlighted her history of philanthropy, recalling how she mobilized N50 million at her 45th birthday to complete the National Sickle Cell Foundation Center and raised $200 million at her 50th birthday for the New Era Foundation and other charitable causes.
She further disclosed that by the afternoon of Tuesday, 23 September 2025, the education fund had already realized N20.4 billion, with donations still increasing. Importantly, she clarified that the signatories to the fund are the Minister of Education and the Chief Librarian of the Federation, with her role limited to advocacy and fundraising.
Describing the National Library as a “national treasure that must not be abandoned,” Oluremi Tinubu reaffirmed the Tinubu administration’s commitment to completing the project within the next two years. The library has suffered repeated setbacks for decades, with the initial N8.2 billion cost in 1981 ballooning to N23 billion by 2023.
She went on to appreciate donors from across political and business circles, including President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima and his wife, former President Muhammadu Buhari, past First Ladies, the leadership of the National Assembly, governors, security chiefs, and industrialists such as Aliko Dangote, Abdulsamad Rabiu, Arthur Eze, Tony Elumelu, and Jim Ovia.
“I have done my part, but I am confident that Nigerians working together can raise what is needed to finally complete the National Library,” she said, stressing the importance of leaving behind a legacy that will benefit future generations.
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