Atiku Offers Scholarship to Viral Niger Teen Miner, Blames Tinubu Government for Poverty

 

By Abel Chigozie 

Former Vice President and 2027 African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar has offered to support the education of Yusuf Aliyu, a teenage artisanal miner in Niger State whose video from a gold-mining community has gone viral following the deaths of 37 suspected miners in government custody. 

Atiku, in a statement, said he had watched Aliyu’s video repeatedly and was deeply concerned that a child displaying intelligence, confidence and clarity of thought was working at a mining site instead of being in school.

The former vice president said he did not see Aliyu simply as an “illegal miner”, but as a Nigerian child whose circumstances reflected the impact of poverty and limited opportunities in mineral-rich communities.

Atiku said he was prepared to support the boy’s education, while stressing that any effort to reach him should be undertaken responsibly through his family and appropriate child-protection channels.

He also expressed concern about the safety of Aliyu and his family, saying the boy’s courage should not expose them to intimidation or retaliation.

According to Atiku, the situation raises broader questions about why communities endowed with valuable mineral resources continue to experience poverty, hunger and inadequate access to education.

He criticised the Tinubu administration’s approach to illegal mining, contrasting it with the Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Development Initiative established under former President Muhammadu Buhari to formalise and integrate artisanal miners into the economy.

Atiku argued that the government should explain what became of the initiative in Niger State and how 37 people arrested over alleged illegal mining ended up dead while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.

The deaths occurred after enforcement operations against suspected illegal mining in Minna. The NSCDC initially attributed the deaths to a suspected disease outbreak, while survivors and preliminary accounts raised concerns about overcrowding and poor ventilation. The exact cause remains subject to investigation. 

President Bola Tinubu has ordered a full and transparent investigation into the incident, while government authorities have suspended NSCDC personnel in connection with the deaths. 

Atiku said the incident should prompt a wider examination of Nigeria’s mining economy, arguing that mineral wealth should translate into education, employment and improved living conditions for host communities.

“The gold beneath their community should build classrooms and livelihoods, not graves,” Atiku said.