Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has defended his investment in education in Northern Nigeria, saying he established the American University of Nigeria in Yola, Adamawa State, to expand access to quality education and create opportunities in the region.
Atiku, the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, made the clarification on Friday while responding to an X user who questioned what he had done to address the plight of Almajiri children living and begging on the streets. He said AUN had supported vulnerable children through literacy, feeding and scholarship programmes.
The X user, @Oluwabunmi63697, had challenged Atiku over the issue after the former Vice-President criticised President Bola Tinubu’s administration over hardship facing Nigerian youths.
“Have you ever addressed this, sir? You were VP for 8 years, these innocent children are in your region and you couldn’t do anything to stop this calamity,” the user wrote.
Responding, Atiku said the situation should concern every Nigerian.
“The sight of children begging on our streets should trouble every Nigerian,” he said.
He explained that his decision to establish AUN in Yola was driven by his desire to improve education and livelihoods in the North.
“I established the American University of Nigeria as a practical investment in education and the development of the North,” Atiku wrote.
He said locating the university in Abuja or Lagos would have offered greater commercial advantages if profit had been his priority.
“I chose Yola because I wanted to invest in my people, create opportunities, and bring world-class education closer to a region that had long needed greater access and development,” he said.
Atiku also disclosed that AUN was no longer his personal property, saying he had transferred its ownership to the university’s host community.
The former Vice-President said the institution had also introduced a “feed and read programme” for vulnerable Almajiri children.
According to him, the programme provides the children with daily meals while teaching them literacy and numeracy.
He further said AUN had used educational radio programmes to help more than 20,000 internally displaced children learn to read.
Atiku also recalled the university’s intervention after the 2014 abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls by Boko Haram.
He said the institution awarded scholarships to young women who escaped from captivity, enabling them to continue their education.
Atiku maintained that every child deserved access to education rather than being left on the streets.
“Whether in government or outside it, I have always sought to turn that conviction into practical action,” he said.
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