Key Takeaways
- Atiku Abubakar says Nigerian youths are selling kidneys for as little as ₦1.7 million to cope with the cost-of-living crisis.
- He accuses President Bola Tinubu of making food, transport, rent, medicine and electricity unaffordable.
- The opposition leader promises to reverse fuel subsidy removal and restore affordability if elected.
- Atiku stresses that existing anti-organ-trafficking laws cannot protect youths from poverty-driven desperation.
- He calls on the government to ensure economic reforms have a human face.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has raised a chilling alarm, saying many young Nigerians are selling their kidneys in a desperate bid to survive. In a Friday statement on social media, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate blamed President Bola Tinubu's administration for making life unaffordable.
A Crisis Beneath the Claims of Reform
Atiku painted a grim picture of daily existence. "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. He cited reports that young Nigerians are selling kidneys for as little as ₦1.7 million.
"I have heard disturbing stories about the extent to which young Nigerians are being driven simply to survive," Atiku said. "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."
"Young Nigerians should be selling dreams, ideas and innovation, not their body organs," he insisted, lamenting that a generation meant to build careers now calculates the market value of its organs.
A Nation's Conscience Tested
For Atiku, this is a moral failure demanding national outrage. "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.
"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. Existing laws against organ sales are insufficient: "Laws alone cannot cure the poverty and desperation that make vulnerable young people easy prey for criminal networks."
Atiku's Pledge: Reversing Painful Policies
Reiterating his opposition to fuel subsidy removal, Atiku declared: "Tinubu made Nigeria expensive. I will make Nigeria affordable again." He argued, "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."
Why This Matters
The spectre of young Nigerians selling kidneys to survive is a warning that economic policy divorced from human dignity can push a nation to the brink. Atiku's alarm underscores the urgent need to tackle the root causes of desperation before an entire generation is lost.