Atiku raises alarm over Nigerians selling kidneys amid economic hardship
by Moronfolu Adeyemi · The Eagle OnlineFormer Vice President Atiku Abubakar has expressed concern over reports that some young Nigerians are selling their kidneys to raise money amid the country’s worsening cost-of-living crisis.
Atiku raised the concern in a post on X on Friday, saying the economic situation was pushing young Nigerians towards desperate measures simply to survive.
“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,” he said.
According to him, “Young people should be selling dreams, ideas and innovation, not their body organs.”
Atiku said the reports reflected the severity of the hardship confronting Nigerians, arguing that “when the cost-of-living crisis becomes unbearable, desperation begins to make the unthinkable appear like an option.”
The 2027 ADC presidential candidate blamed the rising cost of essential goods and services on the economic policies of the President Bola Tinubu administration.
“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,” he said.
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He added, “Yet young Nigerians are reportedly being driven to sell their kidneys for as little as N1.7 million.
“That should break the heart of a nation.”
The former vice president said young Nigerians should instead be focused on building careers, starting businesses, raising families and pursuing their ambitions.
“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,” Atiku said.
He further said the situation had gone beyond ordinary economic hardship, describing it as a disturbing level of desperation.
“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 acknowledged that Nigeria has laws prohibiting commercial organ sales and organ trafficking, but argued that such legislation alone could not address the poverty and desperation that leave vulnerable young people exposed to exploitation.
“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.
He also criticised the Federal Government’s economic reforms, saying policies aimed at restructuring the economy should place the welfare of Nigerians at the centre.
“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 added, “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,” Atiku added.
His remarks come amid reports and unverified claims about organ trafficking in parts of the country in recent weeks.
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