With ₦20.7 billion raised under the Oluremi @65 Education Fund, Nigeria’s First Lady has reignited hope for a national monument long abandoned—the National Library Headquarters in Abuja. Initiated in 2006, stalled for nearly two decades, and now revived not by decree, but by quiet resolve.
The completion cost stands at ₦32 billion. The gap? ₦11.3 billion. But with what’s been raised, Nigeria can complete the main reading halls, digital infrastructure, children’s literacy wing, and public access areas. The heart of the library can beat again—even if the crown awaits. This aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s directive to TETFund to fund the project’s completion.
Peter Obi’s critique—that such a project should not depend on birthday donations—is valid. But it does not resolve the challenge. Nigeria needs doer-leaders, not lamenting-leaders—those who build, even in the face of systemic challenges.
Oluremi Tinubu is one of those rare leaders who rise above ceremonial trivialities to entrench indelible monuments. Like Barbara Bush, who championed literacy across America, and Queen Rania of Jordan, who built libraries for underserved communities, she joins a global league of First Ladies who turn compassion into infrastructure.
READ ALSO: Police rescue four years old sold for ₦3.7m
Let government match her courage. Let corporate bodies sponsor wings. Let citizens with the wherewithal donate books. In the Global North we love to reference, citizen generosity helped power great institutions like the New York Public Library, funded by philanthropists like Astor, Lenox, and Tilden families, and the British Library, supported by charitable foundations and public endowments.
Because when a First Lady chooses to rally a nation of over 130 million people to complete a decades-long national library, she’s not just responding to an urgent national need—she’s shaping the legacy of a generation.
Oluremi Tinubu: A First Lady who reads the soul of a nation—and rewrites its story with grace.
