First Lady Oluremi Tinubu has said her 65th birthday fundraiser realised N20.4 billion out of the N100 billion budget estimates for the completion of the 11-floor National Library building in Abuja.
The project was started by the Shehu Shagari administration 44 years ago.
Speaking at a lunch with members of the State House Press Corps (SHPC) at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, the First Lady said the birthday account, Oluremi@65 Education Fund, would remain open till December 2025 to receive more donations from willing Nigerians towards the completion of the project.
She said the National Library project had faced decades of funding issues, with the budget escalating from N8.2 billion in 1981 to N23 billion as of 2023.
She said President Bola Tinubu’s administration is ready to “take the bull by the horns” by ensuring that the project is completed within two years with the support of Nigerians.
The president’s wife said: “In his 1925 Essay, ‘The New Frontier’ Gebran Kalil Gebran, a Lebanese Writer, Poet, Philosopher and Artist wrote, I quote ‘Are you a politician, asking what your country can do for you or a zealous one, asking what you can do for your country? If you are the first, then you are a parasite, if the second, then you are an oasis in a desert’.
“That is why if we take our baby steps well doing, before long, things will begin to shape up for our country.
“We all have to rise up, play our parts in the building process. A grain of sand and a drop of water make a mighty ocean.”
The First Lady debunked claims in some quarters that her 65th birthday anniversary fundraiser was tied to her husband’s re-election bid in 2027, saying she had promoted similar ventures in the past.
According to her, as a teacher, she was motivated to call for the donations towards the building of the National Library because of the impact library had on her life while growing up.
“What is wrong in doing well or trying to build our country – if I could assist the post -war building process in Liberia by donating the Oluremi Tinubu Elementary and Junior Secondary School in Monte Serrado County in Liberia? What is wrong in drawing attention to some of the areas of need in our beloved Nation?
“This is not the first time I have raised funds for causes close to my heart. For my 45th birthday, I raised N50 million to complete the National Sickle Cell Foundation Center, which has since become fully operational. For my 50th birthday, I raised N200 million for the New Era Foundation and other charities.
“I have played my part in this project, and believe Nigerians can raise the funds needed to complete the library. This is not just a project but a national treasure that will serve generations to come,” she said.
