Chuks Okocha in Abuja
Former Vice-President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, Thursday paid a condolence visit to the Emir of Minna and Chairman of the Minna Emirate Council, Alhaji Umar Farouk Bahago.
He also visited former military president, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (rtd.), and the families of the 37 artisanal miners in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
During his meeting with the affected families, Atiku announced a donation of N20 million to cater for the loved ones left behind by the dead miners.
The former vice-president said Nigeria cannot secure its future without deliberately investing in its young people, expanding opportunities for them and enabling them to pursue legitimate and productive livelihoods.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku described the tragedy as a painful reminder of the vulnerability of young Nigerians struggling to survive amid severe economic pressure.
Atiku said it was particularly harrowing listening firsthand to the account of one of the survivors.
“It was a gory tale listening to one of the survivors. He told us that more than 68 of them were crammed into one small detention facility and that conditions became so desperate that they had to drink one another’s urine just to stay hydrated.
“No Nigerian should ever be subjected to such indignity in the custody of his own government. These were human beings in the care of the state. Whatever accusations may have been made against them, they were entitled to their lives, their dignity and the protection of the law,” the former vice-president said.
Atiku said the fact that many young Nigerians are being driven into hazardous and poorly regulated occupations should compel government to confront the deeper questions of poverty, unemployment and the cost-of-living crisis.
“Thirty-seven young Nigerians entered the custody of the state alive and did not return alive to their families. That tragedy demands truth, justice and accountability.
“But beyond establishing what happened in that detention facility, we must also ask why so many of our young people are being pushed into dangerous and precarious livelihoods simply to survive,” he stated.
Atiku said the deaths should force the President Bola Tinubu administration to reflect on the human consequences of economic policies that have placed enormous pressure on households and diminished opportunities for millions of young Nigerians.
According to him, “When families can no longer afford the basics and young people are forced to take extraordinary risks just to earn a living, government cannot pretend that everything is working.
“Economic reform must ultimately be measured by what it does to the lives of ordinary people. If life becomes progressively more difficult for families, workers and young people, then government has a responsibility to reconsider the choices producing those outcomes.”
The former vice-president reiterated his commitment to policies designed to reduce the cost of living if elected president, including a targeted production subsidy for petroleum products refined in Nigeria, rather than a return to an open-ended subsidy on imported fuel.
He said the policy would be structured to support domestic refining, eliminate waste and ensure that government support translates directly into lower prices for consumers.
“My promise to make life affordable again is not a political slogan. It is a solemn covenant with the Nigerian people.
“We will support what Nigeria produces. We will support fuel refined in Nigeria, create Nigerian jobs and insist that every naira of government support delivers a measurable benefit to the consumer.
“The purpose of government is not merely to announce reforms. The purpose of government is to make life better for the people,” he said.
Atiku said Nigeria’s young people deserve classrooms, skills, jobs and opportunities that allow them to fulfil their potential rather than an economy that leaves survival increasingly dependent on dangerous and uncertain livelihoods.