ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has explained why he established the American University of Nigeria (AUN), in Yola, Adamawa State, saying the institution was intended to expand educational opportunities in the North rather than generate personal profit.
Atiku said his decision to locate the university in Yola was driven by the desire to invest in his community and make quality education accessible to people in a region that had long suffered from limited educational opportunities.
The former vice-president stated this in a post on X while responding to a user who raised issues concerning his contributions to education and initiatives aimed at supporting vulnerable children.
According to Atiku, he could have chosen commercially attractive locations such as Abuja or Lagos if profit was his primary consideration.
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“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.
He further disclosed that AUN was no longer his personal or family property, saying he had transferred ownership of the institution to the community through a deed of gift.
“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.
Vanguard reports that the former vice-president also highlighted some of the programmes associated with the university, particularly those targeting vulnerable children in the region.
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He cited the Feed and Read programme, which provides daily meals for Almajiri children while equipping them with basic literacy and numeracy skills.
Atiku said another initiative, Technology-Enhanced Learning for All, had reached more than 20,000 internally displaced children through educational radio programmes designed to help them learn to read.
He also recalled the university’s intervention following the 2014 abduction of schoolgirls from Chibok, saying AUN awarded scholarships to young women who escaped Boko Haram captivity.
According to him, the scholarships were intended to help the beneficiaries rebuild their lives and pursue opportunities through education.
Atiku, who served as vice-president between 1999 and 2007, said the growing number of children begging on Nigerian streets should be a source of concern to both citizens and policymakers.
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“The sight of children begging on our streets should trouble every Nigerian,” he said.
He maintained that children should be in classrooms rather than on the streets seeking alms, stressing that access to education remained central to his advocacy for vulnerable children.
“My conviction remains simple: every child belongs in a classroom, not on the street with a begging bowl,” Atiku said.
The former vice-president added that his commitment to expanding educational opportunities had continued beyond his years in government.
“Whether in government or outside it, I have always sought to turn that conviction into practical action,” he said.
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