Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has defended his contributions to education and the welfare of children in northern Nigeria following criticism over the Almajiri system.
Atiku, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, said he established the ₦3 million per session American University of Nigeria (AUN) in Yola, Adamawa State, as a deliberate investment in education and development in the region.
He was responding to an X user who questioned what he had done to address the plight of Almajiri children, many of whom are seen begging on the streets across northern Nigeria.
Atiku said the sight of children begging should concern every Nigerian, adding that his decision to establish AUN in Yola was driven by a desire to create opportunities and expand access to quality education.
“I established the American University of Nigeria as a practical investment in education and the development of the North,” he said.
“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.
“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 also disclosed that AUN was no longer his personal property, saying he had transferred ownership to the university’s host community through a deed of gift.
Atiku further cited some of AUN’s initiatives targeting vulnerable children, including its “Feed and Read” programme, which provides meals while teaching literacy and numeracy to Almajiri children.
According to him, the university has also helped more than 20,000 internally displaced children acquire literacy skills through educational radio programmes.
He added that AUN awarded scholarships to young women who escaped Boko Haram captivity following the 2014 abduction of schoolgirls in Chibok, giving them an opportunity to continue their education.
Atiku said he remained committed to the belief that every child should be in school rather than on the streets.
“Whether in government or outside it, I have always sought to turn that conviction into practical action,” he said.