How govt sent my father to prison for doing this to me – Atiku opens up on his childhood

– Atiku Abubakar has opened up on some of his challenges while growing up

– He said his father was imprisoned for refusing to send him to school

– The former vice president said he could not have acquired an education if his parents were required to pay for it

Former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, has attributed all his achievements and successes so far to education.

Speaking at the Ford Foundation Special Reunion to mark the 80th Anniversary of Ford Foundation in Lagos, the former vice president revealed how his father was imprisoned by local authorities in Adamawa state for refusing to send him to school.

He said his father tried to stop him from getting formal education because he needed his help in the farm, Leadership reports.

Atiku Abubakar maintained that education should be free

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According to him, he would not have been allowed to go to school if the government had not forced his father, adding that could not have acquired an education if his parents were required to pay for it.

Atiku said: “My encounter with Peace Corps teachers in the 1960s had a profound impact on my life.  It helped to instill in me the virtues of hard work, critical thinking, and commitment to excellence. The teachers encouraged us to develop a ‘can-do’ spirit and never to despair in order to bring out the best in us to enable us to succeed in life.  In my young eyes those Peace Corpers represented excellence. They instilled in me a burning desire to look to a wider horizon to have a global outlook.

“So, my encounter with the Peace Corps changed my life and education is responsible for the modest success I have achieved thus far. Because of the education I received which was paid for by the Northern Regional Government and local authorities, I was able to rise from a small village in Adamawa to the topmost level of the Nigeria Customs Service.”

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He noted that his exposure to education taught him how to begin saving and investment at a very early stage in his career.

The former vice president maintained that education should be free, accessible and compulsory at the primary and secondary levels.

He said this would give every child an opportunity to acquire education irrespective of family circumstances.

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