Atiku Raises Alarm Over Nigerians Selling Kidneys Amid Cost-of-Living Crisis

By Nafiu Muhammad Lema

Former Vice President and 2027 presidential hopeful, Atiku Abubakar, has expressed concern over reports that some young Nigerians are resorting to selling their kidneys to cope with the country’s worsening cost-of-living crisis.

Atiku described the reports as “horrifying,” saying young Nigerians should be pursuing opportunities, building businesses and developing innovative ideas rather than selling parts of their bodies to survive.

“Young people should be selling dreams, ideas and innovation, not their body organs,” Atiku said.

He said the rising cost of basic necessities, including food, transportation, rent, school fees, medicine and electricity, was pushing vulnerable Nigerians into desperate situations.

According to him, reports that some young Nigerians are willing to sell their kidneys for as little as ₦1.7 million should “break the heart of a nation.”

“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 noted that Nigeria has laws prohibiting commercial organ sales and organ trafficking, but argued that legislation alone would not address the poverty and desperation that expose vulnerable young people to exploitation by criminal networks.

He criticised the Federal Government’s economic policies under President Bola Tinubu, arguing that economic reforms must prioritise the welfare and dignity of ordinary Nigerians.

“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,” Atiku said.

He called for policies aimed at making food, transportation and healthcare more affordable, while creating decent employment opportunities for young Nigerians.

“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,” he said.

Atiku said young Nigerians should be able to earn a living from their talents, ideas and innovation rather than being forced 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.

He described the alleged sale of kidneys by desperate young Nigerians as a reflection of the human cost of the country’s economic hardship.

“This is the human cost of Nigeria’s cost-of-living crisis. Tinubu made Nigeria expensive. I will make Nigeria affordable again,” Atiku declared.