Uba Sani has called on leaders in Northern Nigeria to stop focusing primarily on the quest for political power at the centre and instead develop a common blueprint to address the region’s persistent development challenges. The governor made the call on Wednesday when the leadership of the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation, led by former Niger State Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, paid him a courtesy visit at the Council Chambers of the Kaduna Government House. Sani said the North is bedevilled by challenges, including the high number of out-of-school children, a deficit in skills-based education and inadequate healthcare delivery. He commended the foundation for drawing attention to human capital development, noting that the North currently lacks a common agenda. “I’m happy Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation is leading in this direction, because we need to sit down, look at our problems and address them holistically,” he said. Quoting UNICEF statistics, Sani said Nigeria had about 18 million out-of-school children, with roughly 70 per cent of them in Northern Nigeria. He said more than 500,000 children were out of school and roaming the streets of Kaduna when he assumed office, adding that his administration had returned about 360,000 of them to schools. According to him, Kaduna’s household-mapping system, which was used to identify out-of-school children, has since been adopted by the Federal Ministry of Education as a model. He described the foundation’s forthcoming summit, scheduled for October 28, 2026, with the theme “Good Governance, Industry and Creativity, as well as Sustainable Development,” as timely. Sani said the North could no longer afford to pursue political power without addressing underlying development challenges, including maternal and child mortality. For residents, the test will be whether such calls for a common agenda translate into clear targets, transparent funding, and measurable improvements in schools, clinics and jobs.
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