Food for thought for Northern NigeriaBy Uba Sani“Woe betide a society whereby their dead leaders are better than their leaders that are alive” … Dr. Yusuf Maitama Sule CFR, the Late Dan Masanin Kano, and Former Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United NationsFor the record, I am from Northern Nigeria, a Muslim, and a patriot of Nigeria. The root causes of most of the challenges facing Northern Nigeria are more regional and local than federal. The population growth rate of northern Nigeria, the preponderance of out-of-school children, rising unemployment, youth restiveness, rising social vices, insecurity, etc., in northern Nigeria reflect our dire situation, which calls for sincere and sober reflections. This speaks volumes to how we are making progress as northern Nigerians, or as Nigeria in general, because, by the way, this is not just a northern Nigeria issue. In the subsequent episode, I will continue expounding on the issues bedeviling northern Nigeria and how I think we should best address them.