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.