Atiku defends record on Almajiri begging, points to AUN education initiatives
Atiku Abubakar
Abdullateef Fowewe
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has responded to criticism over the persistence of Almajiri child begging in Northern Nigeria, saying the problem remains a national concern but insisting he has pursued practical education solutions since leaving office.
Replying to a critic on social media, Atiku acknowledged the gravity of the issue.
“I understand your concern, @Oluwabunmi63697. The sight of children begging on our streets should trouble every Nigerian,” he wrote.
He added, “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.”
Atiku highlighted the American University of Nigeria (AUN) in Yola as a centrepiece of his post-vice-presidential contribution to education and development in the North.
“I established the American University of Nigeria as a practical investment in education and the development of the North,” he said, noting he deliberately avoided more commercially attractive locations.
“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 added.
He also stressed that AUN is no longer his private asset.
“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 noted.
Atiku pointed to specific AUN programmes targeting vulnerable children, including Almajiri.
He wrote, “Beyond its classrooms, AUN created the Feed and Read programme, providing vulnerable Almajiri children with daily meals while teaching them literacy and numeracy”.
He added that through AUN’s Technology-Enhanced Learning for All initiative, “more than 20,000 internally displaced children learn to read through educational radio programmes.”
Referencing the 2014 abduction of schoolgirls in Chibok, he said, “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.”
