Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, says current hardship in the country is driving youths to sell their kidneys in desperate attempts to survive.
Atiku who made the claim in a statement posted on his social media platforms on Friday, said he would make Nigeria more affordable if elected in 2027..
The former Vice President, who accused the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of making life increasingly expensive,
“Tinubu made Nigeria expensive. I will make Nigeria affordable again,” he said.
Atiku said he had received what he described as disturbing reports about the extent to which young Nigerians were being pushed into desperate measures to make ends meet.
“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,” he said.
According to him, some young Nigerians were reportedly being driven to sell their kidneys for as little as ₦1.7 million, adding that they should be selling “dreams, ideas and innovation, not their body organs.”
He said the rising cost of living had reached a point where desperation was making previously unthinkable choices appear like viable options.
“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,” Atiku said.
“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 said.
Atiku said the development should concern every Nigerian, stressing that young people should be focused on building careers, starting businesses, raising families and pursuing their aspirations rather than considering the monetary value of their body parts.
He noted that Nigeria already has laws prohibiting commercial organ sales and organ trafficking, but argued that legislation alone would not address the poverty and desperation that make vulnerable people susceptible to criminal networks.
“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 called for economic policies that prioritise the welfare of citizens, saying reforms should translate into affordable food, cheaper transportation, accessible healthcare, decent jobs and renewed hope for young Nigerians.
“Economic reform must have a human face,” he asserted.
