Former Vice-President and African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has defended his contributions to education and support for disadvantaged children following criticism over the prevalence of street begging.
Atiku was responding to a post on X by a user, @Oluwabunmi63697, who shared an image of children begging and questioned why the former Vice-President did not do more to tackle the issue during his eight years in office.
“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.
In his response, Atiku acknowledged the seriousness of children being forced to beg for survival and drew attention to some of the programmes associated with the American University of Nigeria, which he established in Yola, Adamawa State.
“I understand your concern. The sight of children begging on our streets should trouble every Nigerian,” Atiku wrote.
He said the decision to establish AUN in Yola was intended to promote educational development in the North-East and create opportunities within the region.
“I established the American University of Nigeria as a practical investment in education and the development of the North.
“If profit had been my primary motivation, I could easily have located the university in Abuja or Lagos, where the commercial advantages would have been greater,” he said.
According to him, Yola was selected because of the need to bring quality education closer to communities in the region.
“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 added.
The former Vice-President also rejected the impression that AUN remained his private or family-owned institution. He said ownership had been transferred to the community through a deed of gift.
“And as I have publicly stated before, this university is not my personal property or that of my family. I have already signed a deed of gift transferring it to the community. AUN belongs to the community it was established to serve,” he said.
Atiku pointed to the university’s Feed and Read programme as another example of its intervention among vulnerable children. He said the initiative combines daily meals with basic literacy and numeracy education for Almajiri children.
He also mentioned the Technology-Enhanced Learning for All programme, which, according to him, has helped more than 20,000 internally displaced children acquire reading skills through radio-based learning.
The ADC candidate further recalled the university’s support for some survivors of the 2014 Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction.
“Following the Chibok tragedy in 2014, seven years after I left office, AUN awarded scholarships to young women who had escaped Boko Haram, giving them an opportunity to rebuild their lives through education,” he said.
Fifteen girls who escaped the Chibok abduction were reportedly offered scholarships at AUN in 2014.
Atiku said his efforts to assist vulnerable children had consistently focused on education, stressing that children should have opportunities to learn rather than depend on street begging.
“My conviction remains simple: every child belongs in a classroom, not on the street with a begging bowl.
“Whether in government or outside it, I have always sought to turn that conviction into practical action,” he said.
His response came against the backdrop of his recent comments on Nigeria’s worsening economic conditions. Atiku had warned that rising expenses were placing additional pressure on families and young people.
He cited the increasing cost of essential needs, including food, transportation, accommodation, education, healthcare and electricity, and argued that economic policies should improve living standards.
He had also condemned reports of young Nigerians contemplating kidney sales because of financial hardship.
“Young Nigerians should be selling dreams, ideas and innovation, not their body organs.”
