Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has decried the worsening cost-of-living crisis in Nigeria, saying young Nigerians should be building careers and businesses rather than selling their kidneys to survive.
Atiku, in a post on his official X account, criticised the economic situation under President Bola Tinubu, citing reports that some desperate young Nigerians are selling kidneys for as little as ₦1.7 million to raise money for food, rent and school fees.
The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said the situation should “offend the conscience of every Nigerian”.
“Young people should be selling dreams, ideas and innovation, not their body organs,” Atiku wrote.
He said rising costs of food, transport, rent, school fees, medicine and electricity were placing unbearable pressure on Nigerians.
“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 reports of young Nigerians selling their kidneys showed that the country was facing a level of desperation beyond ordinary economic hardship.
“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.”
According to him, young Nigerians should be building careers, starting businesses, raising families and pursuing their dreams rather than considering how much their body parts could fetch.
He added that Nigeria already has laws prohibiting commercial organ sales and organ trafficking, but argued that legislation alone could not address the poverty and desperation that leave vulnerable people exposed 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.”
Atiku said economic reforms must have a “human face”, with affordable food, cheaper transportation, accessible healthcare, decent jobs and renewed hope for young Nigerians.
“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 stressed.
He described the alleged kidney sales as part of the human cost of Nigeria’s cost-of-living crisis.
In a video accompanying his post, Atiku positioned himself as the leader who could make Nigeria more affordable, contrasting his promise with the current economic hardship.
“Tinubu made Nigeria expensive. I will make Nigeria affordable again,” the ADC 2027 presidential candidate added.
