Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has condemned child begging culture in northern Nigeria, saying every child belongs in a classroom and not on the street.

Mr Abubakar, who is the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress for the 2027 general elections, made the call in a post on social media on Friday.

He was reacting to an X user who asked if he ever addressed child begging when he was vice president for eight years.

“The sight of children begging on our streets should trouble every Nigerian. My conviction remains simple: every child belongs in a classroom, not on the street with a begging bowl. Whether in government or outside it, I have always sought to turn that conviction into practical action,” Mr Abubakar said.

The former vice president highlighted his effort to promote education in northern Nigeria.

He stated, “I established the American University of Nigeria as a practical investment in education and the development of the North. If profit had been my primary motivation, I could easily have located the university in Abuja or Lagos, where the commercial advantages would have been greater. 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.”

“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.”

Mr Abubakar said beyond its classrooms, the university created the feed and read programme, providing vulnerable almajirai with daily meals while teaching them literacy and numeracy. 

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

The former vice president added, “Following the Chibok tragedy in 2014, seven years after I left office, AUN awarded scholarships to young women who had escaped Boko Haram, giving them an opportunity to rebuild their lives through education.”