Abuja – The economic recession in the country has required most Nigerians to adopt austerity measures, limiting spending on essentials.

A check by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)  in Kano, Kaduna, Gusau, Katsina and Birnin Kebbi, shows that people prefer to spend on food than any other needs.

Mr Michale Oteri, a Kaduna resident said the only way out of the current situation was to prioritise spending.

“Life has not been easy, especially for civil servants like us, who rely solely on salary to feed and take care of other basic needs.

“We have to adjust; otherwise my salary can no longer sustain my family,’’ he said.

Oteri, a lecturer with Kaduna Polytechnic, said the only way out is for government to inject more money into the system.

Mrs Kubai Ayuba, a house wife, said she stocked pile food stuff to manage her meagre allowance to last for a month.

“What I do when my husband gives me money for food stuff every month is to buy everything we would need that can take us for a month.

“You know prices of food items increase every day, therefore, to get the best out of my little money, I cook my stew and other soup that can take my family for a month and stuck them in the freezer.

An educationist in Kano, Malam Balarabe Adamu, said that recession anywhere had a way of making people to automatically adjust their living habits.

“Nigerians are normally extravagant in nature that is why it’s difficult for us to endure and we keep pointing accusing fingers on others and shifting blames,’’ Adam said.

He explained that he had a habit of taking his family to supermarkets for shopping regularly, but now takes only his wife to shop once in a month.

Adamu explained that apart from his teaching job, he had ventured into animal husbandry to augment his income.

A cross section of people in Katsina State told NAN that the recession had forced them to cut down the level of their spending.

Alhaji Lawal Sa’idu, a journalist, said he now patronised locally produced items instead of foreign ones to cut cost.

Another resident, Muhammad Bello, said the recession had compelled him to cut down on unnecessary travels.

“I have a car but I grounded it because of that situation, I now use commercial motorcycles to conduct my businesses in and around the metropolis to save cost,’’ he said.

Malam Tasiu Tijjani, a civil servant, lamented that the economic recession had affected him negatively as he could no longer afford to save money from his salary.

“As I am talking to you, I have spent all my current salary on the purchase of food items and payment of my two children’s school fees.

“Life has become a bit hard as the prices of food and other essential commodities have doubled and there are no much sources of getting money unlike before,’’ he said.

The respondents said the Federal Government must hasten measures to revive the economy and alleviate the suffering of the citizens.

They also urged government to subsidise food items and other essential commodities to cushion the impact.

Similarly, in Gusau, some of the residents also said life had become increasingly unbearable.

Malam Yusuf Isah, a civil servant, said government must increase salary in view of the spiralling inflation.

Mr Sunday Okon, a business man, however blamed Nigerians penchant for foreign goods for the current recession.

“The truth about the problem we are facing in this country is caused by many Nigerians as they prefer foreign made goods and have abandoned locally made goods.

“Like the cloths people wear, food they eat, and many other things are foreign, Nigerians like to live above their income, and it will not lead us anywhere,’’ he said.

Mrs Esther Paul, a fashion designer, said that even though people found it difficult to sew cloths during this period when many people were struggling to survive, few people were still patronising her.

She said that there would always be a reward for hard work, explaining that many people were only looking for government jobs without thinking of learning any handwork.

“The fact is that government cannot provide job for all Nigerians, even in developed countries; many people work on their own, earn money and also help to provide employment for others.

“People should think of what they are good at, get trained and set up their own businesses. Nobody says it is easy but it is worth the stress, as they say, hard work does not kill,’’ she said.

Hajiya Salamatu Jibril, a food seller, advised Nigerians to engage in farming, including poultry and animal rearing to generate extra income to beat the recession.

In Birnin Kebbi, Alhaji Ibrahim Buzu, a security guard said: “Though, I am not educated to be earning big salary but the N10,000 I am earning  is not enough to cater for my family any more.

“I have to be engaging in begging for alms to supplement my income.

“It is only God that is holding our lives; if not, we would have starved to death by now.’’

Dr Abdulrahman Aliyu, Medical Director, Godiya Clinic, Birnin Kebbi, said patronage had gone down drastically in his clinic.

“I have recorded only one couple that come for family planning in this second quarter of the year.

“In the first quarter, I recorded seven family planning patients. You can see the drastic reduction in patronage and in income. It has also affected me,’’ he said.

According to him, couples now resort to self help by buying contraceptive pills in patent medicine stores instead of coming to hospitals.

Aliyu also said that the number of mothers coming for ante-natal care had drastically reduced due to the impact of the recession.

A trader in perfumes, Alhaji Abdullahi Muhammad, said his business had been severely affected by the recession.

Abdullahi appealed to the Federal Government to pay more concern to the plight of the citizens by finding methods of dealing with the current foreign exchange rate and increase liquidity in the economy.