Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has condemned what he described as the worsening economic hardship in Nigeria, expressing concern over reports that some young Nigerians are allegedly selling their kidneys to survive.
In a statement shared on his official X account on Friday, Atiku described the reports as a disturbing reflection of the country’s deepening cost-of-living crisis, saying no Nigerian youth should be forced into such desperation.
According to him, young people should be pursuing their ambitions and contributing to national development rather than sacrificing parts of their bodies in exchange for money.
“I have heard disturbing stories about the extent to which young Nigerians are being driven simply to survive. Perhaps the most horrifying are the growing reports of young people selling parts of their bodies: kidneys in particular, in desperate attempts to raise money.
“Young people should be selling dreams, ideas and innovation, not their body organs,” he said.
The former vice president argued that rising prices of essential goods and services have left many Nigerians struggling to meet basic needs.
He said, “Yet when the cost-of-living crisis becomes unbearable, desperation begins to make the unthinkable appear like an option. That should offend the conscience of every Nigerian.
“In Tinubu’s Nigeria, almost everything required to live with dignity is becoming more expensive by the day: food, transport, rent, school fees, medicine and electricity.
“Yet young Nigerians are reportedly being driven to sell their kidneys for as little as ₦1.7 million.
“That should break the heart of a nation.”
Atiku maintained that the situation goes beyond ordinary economic hardship, warning that it reflects a frightening level of desperation among the country’s youth.
“Young Nigerians should be building careers, starting businesses, raising families and pursuing their dreams, not calculating how much parts of their bodies can fetch simply to stay alive.
“When young Nigerians begin to see their kidneys as emergency savings, we are no longer talking about ordinary economic hardship.
“We are talking about desperation at its most frightening,” he stated.
While acknowledging that Nigeria already has laws prohibiting commercial organ sales and organ trafficking, Atiku argued that legislation alone cannot solve the underlying economic challenges driving vulnerable people into the hands of criminal networks.
“Nigeria already has laws prohibiting commercial organ sales and organ trafficking. But laws alone cannot cure the poverty and desperation that make vulnerable young people easy prey for criminal networks,” he said.
The former vice president also criticised the Federal Government’s economic reforms, insisting that policies should improve the welfare of ordinary citizens rather than deepen hardship.
“No government should celebrate ‘reforms’ while young Nigerians are being reduced to selling parts of themselves to eat, pay rent, settle school fees or survive.
“Economic reform must have a human face. It must mean affordable food, cheaper transportation, accessible healthcare, decent jobs and renewed hope for the next generation.
“Our young people should be selling their ideas, talents and innovation to the world and not their kidneys for ₦1.7 million just to survive at home.
“This is the human cost of Nigeria’s cost-of-living crisis.
“Tinubu made Nigeria expensive. I will make Nigeria affordable again.”