By Lizzy Chirkpi
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has offered to support the education of Yusuf Aliyu, a teenage artisanal miner in Niger State whose video from a mining community has gone viral on social media.
Atiku said he was moved by the boy’s intelligence, clarity and confidence, arguing that a child with such potential should be in school rather than working at a mining site.
“I have watched Yusuf Aliyu’s video repeatedly, and each time, my heart breaks,” Atiku said in a statement posted on his verified X account on Sunday.
The former vice president said he could not simply view Yusuf as an “illegal miner”, but as a Nigerian child whose circumstances had pushed him into a difficult environment.
He pledged to support the teenager’s education and help ensure that his potential was not lost to poverty.
Atiku, however, stressed that any effort to reach Yusuf must be handled responsibly through his family and appropriate child-protection channels.
He also appealed for the teenager’s safety, warning that the attention generated by the viral video should not expose Yusuf or his family to intimidation or retaliation.
The intervention comes against the backdrop of the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners who were being held in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Minna, Niger State.
The victims were among people arrested during operations at mining sites in the state. Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago confirmed the deaths and said investigations were underway to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Authorities have said the exact cause of death has yet to be established.
The Federal Government has since constituted a 10-member independent committee to investigate the deaths and suspended 20 NSCDC officers, including the Niger State Commandant of the Corps, pending the outcome of the investigation. The committee has been given two weeks to submit its report.
Atiku used Yusuf’s story to draw attention to the broader challenges facing children growing up in communities endowed with mineral resources but plagued by poverty and limited access to education.
He questioned how communities sitting on valuable mineral deposits could remain so poor that children are compelled to work at mining sites instead of attending school.
The former vice president also referred to the Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Development Initiative (PAGMI), established under former President Muhammadu Buhari to promote the formalisation of artisanal gold mining.
Rather than focusing solely on the political disagreement surrounding the mining deaths, Atiku’s intervention has shifted attention to Yusuf and the wider question of what happens to children growing up in informal mining communities.
He said Yusuf’s circumstances should prompt a broader conversation about education, child protection, artisanal mining and the socioeconomic conditions that push children into hazardous work.
“The gold beneath their community should build classrooms and livelihoods, not graves,” Atiku said.
The immediate concern now is whether Yusuf can be safely removed from hazardous mining work and given the opportunity to continue his education.
Meanwhile, investigations into the deaths of the 37 suspected miners are ongoing, as federal and state authorities seek to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident and determine responsibility where applicable.