𝗔𝘁𝗶𝗸𝘂 𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗿
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Sunday said his “heart breaks” each time he watches a viral video of a teenage artisanal miner, Yusuf Aliyu, speaking at a mining site in Niger State after the deaths of 37 miners in the state.

Atiku, in a statement posted on his X handle, said he was prepared to support the boy’s education, describing him as a child whose intelligence and confidence should be nurtured in a classroom rather than by working 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.

The former vice president also appealed for the boy’s safety, warning that his public statements 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.”

The teenager, 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 boy’s account raised questions about poverty and the management of Nigeria’s mineral resources.

“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.”

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 added, “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 called on the Federal Government to explain the status of PAGMI in Niger State and the circumstances surrounding the deaths of 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.”

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.

The NSCDC initially attributed the deaths to a suspected disease outbreak, while survivors alleged that overcrowding, poor ventilation, heat and dehydration contributed to the deaths.

The actual cause of death has not been established. The Federal Government has constituted a 10-member independent committee to investigate the deaths, including the circumstances surrounding the arrests and detention and the cause of Niger state government also took similar steps to unravel the circumstances that lead to their deaths

PUNCH