When Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Remi Tinubu, disclosed that her 65th birthday had pulled in over ₦20 billion to complete the long-abandoned National Library, applause filled the air.
It sounded noble: redirecting lavish adverts and frivolous gifts into knowledge infrastructure. But beneath the cheers lurks a darker truth — a government so absent in its responsibilities that citizens must now fund basic national projects through charity.
Welcome to a Nigeria where birthdays plug holes in the national budget.
1. When Philanthropy Replaces Policy
Philanthropy is good. But philanthropy that replaces government obligation is dangerous. The National Library is not a luxury—it is a constitutional responsibility, tied to education, culture, and national identity.
For decades, the project has been trapped in bureaucratic excuses and underfunding. Now, with a birthday fundraiser filling the gap, the question emerges: Is this generosity, or a quiet admission of governance failure?
2. A Country Of GoFundMes
Nigeria has slowly drifted into a “GoFundMe Republic.”
* Citizens crowdfund to pay medical bills because public hospitals are broken.
* Students crowdfund tuition because scholarships are rare.
* Communities crowdfund roads and boreholes because state budgets vanish into “contract awards.”
Now, even the First Lady has resorted to fundraising to build what government ministries failed to complete for decades.
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What happens when every public good requires charity? A country of endless fundraisers, where taxes enrich the elite but the people pay twice for services — once through tax, again through donation.
3. The Risk Of Weaponised Generosity
Here lies the dangerous paradox: generosity can be politicised.
* Fundraising becomes branding — “Look what the First Lady achieved that government couldn’t.”
* Donations from wealthy elites double as political investment, hoping for favors in return.
* And critics argue that such events normalise a culture of outsourcing state duties, where citizens lower their expectations of government.
So while ₦20 billion sounds like progress, it could also be setting a precedent: that public institutions are funded only when politicians need a moral headline.
4. The Transparency Question Nobody Wants to Ask
Whenever billions are raised, Nigerians whisper the same fear: where will the money go?
* Who audits the ₦20 billion?
* Which contractors get the job?
* Will the National Library actually be completed — or will it become another ghost project swallowed by “consultancy fees” and white-elephant contracts?
Until transparency is guaranteed, every “fundraiser” risks becoming another chapter in Nigeria’s long book of funds raised, dreams buried.
5. Why This Matters Beyond the Library
This story is bigger than the National Library. It touches the heart of governance in Nigeria:
* If the First Lady can raise ₦20 billion in a week, why can’t federal ministries with trillion-naira budgets deliver the same?
* Why are citizens paying for projects already listed in past national budgets?
* And most importantly: when did governance become an optional extra that private generosity can replace?
A Country That Begs At Birthdays
Remi Tinubu’s fundraiser is not just a story of generosity — it’s a mirror of a broken system. It shows how private charity has become a substitute for public duty. It proves that while the people cheer noble gestures, they also quietly accept lowered standards of governance.
Because in a functioning democracy, ₦20 billion wouldn’t need to come from a birthday appeal. It would have been allocated, audited, executed, and completed by the same government that taxes its people.
Until Nigeria confronts this reality, the line between philanthropy and political failure will remain dangerously blurred.
