By Abdullahi Inuwa
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has raised the alarm over reports that some young Nigerians are being pushed by economic hardship to consider selling their kidneys and other body organs to survive.
Atiku described the development as a disturbing sign of the depth of Nigeria’s cost-of-living crisis, warning that the country’s younger generation should not be forced to place a price tag on parts of their bodies simply to meet basic needs.
“Young people should be selling dreams, ideas and innovation, not their body organs,” Atiku said.
He expressed concern over reports that some desperate young Nigerians could be willing to sell a kidney for as little as ₦1.7 million, saying such reports should “break the heart of a nation.”
According to him, young Nigerians should be building careers, establishing businesses, raising families and pursuing their ambitions rather than considering the sale of their organs as a financial escape route.
“When young Nigerians begin to see their kidneys as emergency savings, we are no longer talking about ordinary economic hardship,” he said.
“We are talking about desperation at its most frightening.”
Atiku blamed the worsening economic pressure on the rising cost of essential goods and services, including food, transportation, rent, school fees, healthcare and electricity.
He noted that although Nigeria has laws prohibiting the commercial sale and trafficking of human organs, legislation alone cannot address the poverty and desperation that leave vulnerable Nigerians exposed to exploitation.
The former vice-president therefore urged the government to pursue economic policies that place the welfare and dignity of citizens at the centre of reform.
“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,” he said.
Atiku argued that economic reforms should result in cheaper food, affordable transportation, accessible healthcare, decent employment opportunities and renewed hope for young Nigerians.
He said Nigeria’s youth population represents one of the country’s greatest assets and should be empowered to export their talents, creativity and innovations rather than being pushed into desperate measures.
“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,” he said.
Atiku described the alleged kidney-selling trend as a disturbing reflection of the human consequences of the country’s economic hardship.
He concluded with a direct political message, declaring:
“Tinubu made Nigeria expensive. I will make Nigeria affordable again.”
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