Nigerian Youths Selling Their Kidneys Due To Hardship Under Tinubu Gov’t – Atiku

Former Vice President and 2027 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has expressed concern over reports that some young Nigerians are now selling their kidneys for as little as ₦1.7 million to survive the country’s worsening economic hardship.

Atiku said the development was a disturbing sign of how far the cost-of-living crisis had pushed young people, warning that desperation was making extreme choices appear like the only way out.

Atiku raised the alarm in a statement on Friday, saying that young Nigerians should be using their talents, ideas and creativity to build better lives instead of being forced to consider selling parts of their bodies.

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

Atiku said the rising cost of basic needs such as food, transport, rent, school fees, medicine and electricity had made life increasingly difficult for many Nigerians.

He blamed the economic direction of the President Bola Tinubu administration for the growing hardship.

“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.

He said reports that some young Nigerians were willing to sell their kidneys for ₦1.7 million should worry everyone.

“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,” he said.

The former Vice President added, “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 noted that Nigerian laws already prohibit the commercial sale of human organs and organ trafficking.

However, he argued that simply enforcing the laws would not solve the deeper problem.

According to him, poverty and desperation could continue to expose vulnerable Nigerians to criminal networks looking to exploit their situation.

“Laws alone cannot cure the poverty and desperation that make vulnerable young people easy prey for criminal networks,” he said.

Atiku called for economic policies that would make a clear difference in the daily lives of Nigerians.

He said reforms should result in cheaper food, affordable transportation, accessible healthcare, decent jobs, and renewed hope for young people.

“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 added that Nigerian youths should be able to earn a living from their talents and ideas instead of selling their organs to survive.

“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 added.