Almajiri: I Established My University In Yola To Invest In North, Not For Profit — Atiku

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has defended his decision to establish the American University of Nigeria (AUN) in Yola, Adamawa State, saying the institution was established as an investment in education and the development of Northern Nigeria, rather than for personal profit.

Atiku stated this in a post on X while responding to a user, where he highlighted his contributions to education and initiatives aimed at supporting vulnerable children in the region.

He said if profit had been his primary motivation, he would have established the university in commercially advantaged cities such as Abuja or Lagos.

“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 said.

The former vice president also disclosed that AUN was no longer his personal or family property, saying he had signed a deed of gift transferring ownership of the university to the community.

“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,” Atiku said.

Atiku also highlighted programmes established through AUN to support vulnerable children, including the Feed and Read programme, which provides daily meals to Almajiri children while teaching them literacy and numeracy.

He said the university’s Technology-Enhanced Learning for All initiative had also helped more than 20,000 internally displaced children learn to read through educational radio programmes.

Atiku further recalled AUN’s intervention following the 2014 abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls, saying the university awarded scholarships to young women who escaped Boko Haram.

According to him, the scholarships were designed to give the beneficiaries an opportunity to rebuild their lives through education.

Atiku, who served as Nigeria’s vice president from 1999 to 2007, said the sight of children begging on Nigerian streets should concern citizens and policymakers.

“The sight of children begging on our streets should trouble every Nigerian,” he said.

He maintained that every child should have access to education rather than being left to beg on the streets.

“My conviction remains simple: every child belongs in a classroom, not on the street with a begging bowl,” Atiku said.

He added that his commitment to education and creating opportunities for vulnerable children had continued both while in government and outside government.

“Whether in government or outside it, I have always sought to turn that conviction into practical action,” he said.