Much Ado About Library Donation

The perceptible mixed reactions to the First Lady Remi Tinubu’s entreaty for day donations toward completing the National Library task uncover a troubling inclination among Nigerians to reflexively criticise adjacent the astir well-intentioned initiatives.

While morganatic questions astir governance priorities merit attention, the sustained effort by Mrs. Tinubu to implicit a task that has languished for implicit 4 decades demonstrates precisely the benignant of civic enactment Nigeria needs much of, not less.

The National Library office project, primitively approved successful 1981 during the Shehu Shagari medication and contracted for N8.59 cardinal successful 2006 nether President Obasanjo, has go a monument to Nigeria’s chronic inability to implicit infrastructure projects.

Over 19 years since operation began, lone 44 percent of the enactment has been completed portion costs person escalated from the archetypal N8.59 cardinal to projections ranging from N49.6 cardinal to implicit N120 billion. This represents not conscionable fiscal mismanagement but a tragic discarded of resources that could person delivered immense benefits to Nigerian acquisition and intelligence development.

Mrs. Tinubu’s fundraising attack represents a refreshing departure from the emblematic authorities effect to stalled projects – either abandoning them wholly oregon throwing much nationalist funds astatine problems without accountability.

In the sentiment of this newspaper, by  mobilising backstage contributions and maintaining transparent oversight done the Minister of Education and the Chief Librarian of the Federation arsenic signatories, she has created a exemplary for public-private concern that deserves emulation alternatively than criticism.

The First Lady’s way grounds successful philanthropic fundraising provides credibility to this latest initiative. Her erstwhile achievements – raising N50 cardinal for her 45th day to implicit the National Sickle Cell Foundation Center and N200 cardinal for her 50th day toward the New Era Foundation – show sustained committedness to improvement causes beyond governmental expedience.

These are not one-off publicity stunts but portion of a accordant signifier of utilizing idiosyncratic milestones to mobilise resources for nationalist development.

Critics similar erstwhile statesmanlike campaigner of the Labour Party successful the 2023 elections,Peter Obi, portion acknowledging the initiative’s bully intentions, characterise it arsenic “a stark indictment of the authorities of governance successful Nigeria.” This perspective, portion containing elements of truth, misses the cardinal constituent astir civic work and collaborative governance.

No government, careless of however well-funded oregon efficiently managed, tin single-handedly code each of a nation’s improvement needs. The astir palmy societies are those wherever citizens, civilian society, and backstage assemblage actors complement authorities efforts done voluntary contributions and assemblage mobilisation.

The examination to President Kennedy’s celebrated exhortation – “Ask not what your state tin bash for you, but what you tin bash for your country” – that Mrs. Tinubu invoked is peculiarly apt. Rather than viewing national contributions arsenic grounds of authorities failure, they should beryllium celebrated arsenic manifestations of patriotic work and corporate ownership of nationalist development.

The implicit N20 cardinal already raised toward the project’s completion demonstrates that Nigerians are so consenting to enactment worthy causes erstwhile presented with transparent and accountable frameworks.

The strategical value of completing the National Library cannot beryllium overstated. In an epoch wherever entree to accusation progressively determines nationalist competitiveness, a modern, well-equipped nationalist room serves arsenic important infrastructure for education, research, and intelligence development.

The facility, strategically located betwixt the National Mosque and National Ecumenical Centre successful Abuja, symbolises Nigeria’s committedness to cognition and learning arsenic foundations of nationalist development.

The economical benefits of completing the room widen beyond its nonstop acquisition impact. A finished task employs operation workers, creates ongoing jobs for librarians and enactment staff, attracts researchers and students to Abuja, and demonstrates Nigeria’s quality to implicit large infrastructure projects.

The reputational worth of finishing a task that has go synonymous with authorities inefficiency would unsocial warrant the concern required.

Mrs. Tinubu’s determination to support the donation relationship unfastened until December 2025 provides capable clip for sustained fundraising portion maintaining momentum toward completion. Her people of N100 billion, portion ambitious, reflects the realistic costs of finishing the 11-story struc...