Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has explained that he established the American University of Nigeria in Yola, Adamawa State, to invest in his people, create opportunities and bring world-class education closer to a region that had long needed greater access and development.
Atiku said he could have established the institution in Lagos or Abuja if his primary motivation had been profit, arguing that locating the university in Yola reflected his commitment to the development of Northern Nigeria.
The former vice president made this known on Friday in response to an X user who challenged him to explain his contribution to addressing the out-of-school children crisis in Northern Nigeria.
The critic, who shared a photograph of Almajiri children, asked Atiku whether he had ever addressed the issue, noting that he served as vice president for eight years while children in his region continued to live on the streets.
Atiku responds to criticism
Responding, Atiku said the sight of children begging on Nigerian streets should concern every citizen, adding that his decision to establish AUN was part of his practical efforts to promote education and development in the North.
“The sight of children begging on our streets should trouble every Nigerian,” he said.
The African Democratic Congress presidential candidate explained that establishing AUN in Yola was a deliberate decision aimed at providing opportunities for people in the region.
“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.
“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.”
AUN transferred to community
Atiku also stated that the university was no longer his personal property or that of his family, disclosing that he had signed a deed of gift transferring ownership to the community.
“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.
He further highlighted programmes established by the university to support vulnerable children in the region, saying its contribution extended beyond conventional classroom education.
According to Atiku, AUN created the Feed and Read programme, which provides vulnerable Almajiri children with daily meals while teaching them basic literacy and numeracy skills.
Support for vulnerable children
He added that the university’s Technology-Enhanced Learning for All initiative had helped more than 20,000 internally displaced children learn to read through educational radio programmes.
Atiku also recalled the university’s intervention following the 2014 Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction, saying that seven years after he left office, AUN awarded scholarships to young women who had escaped Boko Haram.
He said the scholarships were designed to give the beneficiaries an opportunity to rebuild their lives through education.
“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 stressed.
