By Abiola Olawale
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has raised an alarm over reports that soaring economic hardship is driving vulnerable young Nigerians to sell their body organs, particularly kidneys, to survive.
Describing the trend as “desperation at its most frightening,” Atiku criticized the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, stating that the harsh financial climate has turned basic survival into an extreme challenge for the country’s younger generation.
In a strongly worded statement released on Friday, Atiku expressed deep grief over reports indicating that some youths view their body parts as emergency savings accounts.
Atiku, the 2027 Africa Democratic Congress presidential candidate, in a post on X on Thursday, said he had heard “disturbing stories” of young Nigerians resorting to selling body organs, particularly kidneys, in desperate attempts to raise 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,” Atiku wrote.
He said young Nigerians ought to be “selling dreams, ideas and innovation, not their body organs,” adding that the trend should “offend the conscience of every Nigerian.”
Atiku claimed that young Nigerians were reportedly being driven to sell their kidneys for as little as ₦1.7m, a figure he did not attribute to any specific report or agency.
The former Vice President linked the trend to the rising cost of living under the Tinubu administration, listing food, transport, rent, school fees, medicine and electricity as items that have become increasingly unaffordable for ordinary Nigerians.
He said, “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.
“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.”
Atiku acknowledged that Nigeria already has laws prohibiting commercial organ sales and organ trafficking, but argued that “laws alone cannot cure the poverty and desperation that make vulnerable young people easy prey for criminal networks.”
He called for economic reforms with “a human face,” including affordable food, cheaper transportation, accessible healthcare, decent jobs and “renewed hope for the next generation.”
The former Vice President capped the statement with a direct jab at the President: “Tinubu made Nigeria expensive. I will make Nigeria affordable again.”
