Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has pledged to support the education of Yusuf Aliyu, a teenage artisanal miner in Niger State whose video went viral following the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in the state.
Atiku made the pledge in a statement on X on Sunday after watching the teenager speak at a mining site, saying Aliyu’s intelligence and confidence should be nurtured in a classroom rather than at a mining site.
“I have watched Yusuf Aliyu’s video repeatedly, and each time, my heart breaks. A child with such intelligence, clarity and confidence should be in a classroom building his future—not struggling for survival in a community surrounded by gold but buried in poverty.
“I cannot look at him and see an ‘illegal miner.’ I see a Nigerian child failed by the country that should have protected him. I see brilliance trapped by poverty and enormous promise abandoned by leadership,” the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate said.
Aliyu, who spoke to News Central Television in a video that has circulated online, alleged that personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps had been shooting at miners at a gold mining site in Niger State.
He also disputed the NSCDC’s initial explanation that the deaths of suspected illegal miners in its custody were linked to a disease outbreak.
“We are under 18, and we are not allowed to be taken inside a cell. Heat cannot kill a gold miner.
“We are not into illegal mining. The Niger State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps don’t have the right to shoot at us.
“We are not illiterate. We are educated. We do this to help our parents in one or two. Our parents are very poor. We are the ones feeding our parents. It is what we do here that we can pay our school fees,” the teenager said.
Atiku said the teenager’s account highlighted broader concerns about poverty in communities with mineral resources, as well as the management of Nigeria’s mining sector.
“But this video raises a question that should trouble the conscience of every Nigerian: how can a community sitting upon gold remain so poor that it cannot educate its children? How can its wealth leave the soil while hunger and deprivation remain in its homes?”
“This is an indictment of the Tinubu administration. The Federal Government controls Nigeria’s mineral resources, yet the communities producing that wealth remain without schools, opportunities or protection.”
The former vice president also called for Aliyu’s protection, warning that his public comments should not expose him or his family to intimidation or retaliation.
“I appeal specifically for his safety. His courage must not expose him or his family to intimidation or retaliation. I am prepared to support his education and ensure that the brilliance we have witnessed is not buried by poverty,” Atiku said.
“Any effort to reach him must be handled responsibly through his family and appropriate child-protection channels.”
Atiku also criticised the Tinubu administration’s handling of artisanal miners, contrasting it with the Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Development Initiative established under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
“The contrast is revealing. President Buhari established PAGMI to register, train and integrate artisanal miners into the formal economy, with Niger State included among its intervention states. Tinubu inherited that framework but has met these vulnerable citizens with raids, detention and the label ‘illegal miners.’”
“Buhari saw people to formalise. Tinubu sees poor people to criminalise.”
The former vice president further linked Aliyu’s circumstances to what he described as failures by the government to provide opportunities for children living in mineral-producing communities.
“This boy is evidence against the Tinubu government. His intelligence exposes the opportunities it has failed to provide. His poverty exposes the injustice of Nigeria’s mining economy. His presence at that site exposes an administration that has left brilliant children without a ladder out of deprivation.”
He also demanded explanations from the Federal Government over the status of PAGMI in Niger State and the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the 37 suspected illegal miners in NSCDC custody.
“The government must explain what became of PAGMI in Niger State and how 37 Nigerians died in the custody of a federal agency. Calling them ‘illegal miners’ cannot erase their humanity or excuse their deaths.”
Atiku said he would continue to advocate for children such as Aliyu, stressing the need to protect their lives, education and future.
Tribune Online reports that the deaths occurred after suspected illegal miners were arrested during NSCDC operations in the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas of Niger State on September 15 and 16.
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