According to the report, at a birthday party hosted for him by students in his secondary school, Atiku allegedly said that no Nigerian public University undergraduate can compete with students in his secondary school, American University of Nigeria (AUN) Academy.
In this statement released by his media organization today, Atiku denied making such a statement. According to him, he is a proud product of public schools in Nigeria. Read his statement below ...
On
Wednesday, 16 November I was at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, as
chairman of the annual Zik Lecture Series, where I delivered remarks
titled “Crisis, Education and Africa’s Recovery”. The speech, as with
many I have made in recent times, has been focused on the roles of
government and private sector in providing world class education in
Nigeria.
Here is a small part of that speech:
“I
could not have gone to school if my parents were required to pay for
it. That and the importance of education to nation building is the
reason why I strongly believe that primary and secondary education
should be free and compulsory in our country and indeed across Africa.
That way every child gets to acquire basic education to help them
improve their lives and help us produce an enlightened citizenry. That
is how it is in the countries that we look up to as models of
development.”
On
Friday, 18 November I was at the AUN Academy, the secondary school I
founded in 1989 (back then as ABTI Academy). While remarking on the
eloquence of the head boy, I noted that I was in Unizik as well as AUN
(the university I founded) a few days before, and this boy was eloquent
as the students I met in both institutions. I encouraged the young man
to keep up studying. My statement was clearly a compliment to the
brilliance of this exceptional child.
It was surprising to me to see headlines the next day from various publications, including The Cable andBellaNaija,
among many others, with headlines declaring Atiku had insulted public
universities. There were quotes in the papers which were so unfairly
misrepresented; I had no option but to publicly call them lies. I
expected more from our press – usually, journalists would refer back to
the subject of a report for comment before publication. No one contacted
me or my media office. Of course the lie spreads far and wide, in spite
of my denial on social media.
So there is no doubt, I am a proud product of Nigerian public schools, and would never insult the institutions which made me.
That episode was still ongoing when I saw a report from Premium Times that I blasted the president as ineffectual in the fight against Boko Haram. A very shocking report.
To clarify, here are a few experts from my remarks:
The
insurgents still occupy a specific geographical space. They (Boko
Haram) still retain the capacity for occasional deadly attacks. Many
citizens in the zone still remain vulnerable and live in fear.
We
cannot say that the problem is over until every displaced person is
able to return home, to the office, to the market, to the farm, and
resume normal activities. We cannot say it is over until we rebuild the
schools, the churches, the hospitals, the markets, and the homes that
had been destroyed. And we cannot say it’s over until the survivors of
this insurgency receive the help they need, including psychological
therapy to deal with the trauma that they have been through.
I visited an IDP camp on Saturday and
had the privilege of teaching a math class to some children. But the
site of hundreds of children running around and unable to attend school
was very gut wrenching. It still breaks my heart. So we cannot say the
insurgency is over until all the displaced children return to their
schools.
And,
as I indicated last year, it would not be enough for people to simply
return to their pre-insurgency lives. We must do better than that
otherwise we would only have papered over the wound without really
treating it.
Looking
through the remarks, I do not understand how this is a criticism of the
president or anyone. Without a doubt, I am from Adamawa State, a state
badly affected by the insurgency. I am a stakeholder in the welfare of
the people of my state and the north east. I have been supporting the
insurgency effort since the last administration, including funding local
vigilante operations, which helped repel the insurgents’ attempts in
various parts of the state.
Working
with my charity organisation, we supported displaced people who flowed
in large numbers into Yola, as the insurgency hit their homes. We still
support the feeding and housing of thousands of IDPs who call Adamawa
home. As one of the leading sons of Adamawa, I see this as my
responsibility (although being politically active citizen, many have
misconstrued my efforts as part of some grand political drama). In order
to keep these events non-political, we do not invite the press to our
weekly food deliveries; neither do we promote our seed and farmland
distribution events for IDPs.
We
do what we do, because the North East is our home. Even if the state
institutions fail, we have a responsibility to stand in the gap. The
reported starvation in many camps around the country is an example of
what could happen if private efforts don’t fill the institutional gaps.
Many
of our citizens still live in IDP camps. They are still hungry and
displaced from their homes. Earlier in the year, we provided land and
grains to 5,000 families, to help them resettle, but there are over 2
million people still displaced! This is why the insurgency is still a
problem, and why you should be concerned.
Instead
of misreporting what I said, I invite you to come and see what we are
actually doing. Come and see the efforts of the men and women of Adamawa
Peace Initiative, Christians and Muslims, business people and teachers,
people from all parts of Nigeria, who are stakeholders in keeping the
peace in the state, come and see the work they’re doing everyday to keep
children in the IDP camps fed, clothed and educated.
These are the issues we should be concerned with, instead of publishing false and misleading reports.
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