September 28, (THEWILL) — For using the occasion of her 65th birthday to shine a light on a neglected national monument, the National Library project, Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has once again reminded the governing elite of their failings in project Nigeria, particularly in the aspect of education.
To an expert, the functions of a national library in any country include collecting and preserving a nation’s literary, cultural and scientific heritage, acting as the official repository for published materials through legal deposit, serving as the national bibliographic control center and providing access to information for researchers and the public, increasingly with a focus on digital content. National libraries also support national development by coordinating library services, fostering literacy and conducting research.
Yet for the past 19 years, past Nigerian leaders thought nothing of the importance of a National Library to national development. For all of those years, the project has been on the drawing board. In fact, in March this year, Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa gave assurances of the Federal Government’s readiness to complete the project. Touring the abandoned project which is still lying fallow on Plot 35, Cadastral Business District in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, recently, the Minister in the company of the National Librarian, Professor Chinwe Anunobi, said that work on the deserted project would begin in June, 2025.
Nothing was heard about it in June until the First Lady made it her birthday gift to Nigeria on September 24, 2025. For a project that was designed in 1981 and construction work started in 2006 and then stopped in 2012, Senator Tinubu’s gesture is commendable and instructive.
As the First Lady of Lagos State, she drove the Annual Spelling Bee competition for schools in Lagos State with such single-minded purpose that 21 years on, the competition is still being held in the state. Designed to boost academic excellence, literacy and self-confidence for better performance among learners in schools, the competition has spread across primary and secondary schools in the 20 Local Government Areas and 32 Local Council Development Areas of the state. At the end of the competition, the best among the students are made to symbolically assume the reins of power as governor of the state for a day.
This significant step has given children across the social strata in the state, a high sense of confidence and boosted their morale.
Senator Tinubu’s interest in reviving the National Library is thus a reflection of her high regard for education.
To have devoted her birthday celebration as the occasion to launch a fund for the revival of the abandoned National Library is noble. We salute her courage and insight.
Now, eyebrows have been raised about the N20.4 billion donations from well-wishers for the project she has set a N100 billion target for. Questions about accountability and due process have been asked. She has already addressed the insinuations about a link with 2027 elections, saying it has nothing to do with it.
Projects such as this usually have an appointed board to manage the funds. In any case, the onus is on those who doubt the authenticity of her gesture to find a way to ensure the project is delivered as promised; they can join in monitoring the project henceforth. Also, there are education based NGOs and CSOs, which could observe and check the project during its execution stage.
Even so, we salute the First Lady for her courage in reviving the National Library project that, hopefully, will foster literacy, improve research and preserve national, cultural and scientific heritage.
