Former Vice-President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has donated N20 million to the families of 37 suspected artisanal miners who died in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Minna, Niger State.

Atiku announced the donation on Tuesday during a visit to Minna, where he condoled with the Emir of Minna and Chairman, Minna Emirate Council, Alhaji Umar Farouk Bahago, visited former military president, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (rtd), and met with families and survivors of the tragedy.

In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku described the incident as a painful reminder of the vulnerability of young Nigerians struggling to survive amid economic pressures.

He said it was harrowing to listen 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,” Atiku said.

Atiku said the fact that many young Nigerians were driven into hazardous and poorly regulated occupations should compel the government to confront 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 said.

He said the deaths should force the Tinubu administration to reflect on the human consequences of economic policies that had placed enormous pressure on households.

“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 the government has a responsibility to reconsider the choices producing those outcomes,” Atiku said.

The former Vice-President reiterated his commitment to policies designed to reduce the cost of living if elected president, including targeted production subsidies for petroleum products refined in Nigeria, rather than a return to open-ended subsidies on imported fuel.

He said the policy would be structured to support domestic refining, eliminate waste and ensure government support translated 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 deserved classrooms, skills, jobs and opportunities that would allow them to fulfil their potential rather than an economy that left survival dependent on dangerous livelihoods. (Nigerian Tribune)