It always comes to me as a surprise when I read and hear crass comments from the northerners against Emir Sanusi II for his honest and dogged stance on the sorrowful state of affairs in the North. These comments are indeed saddening as they reflect either poor understanding of the Emir and the North or politics as usual, which has always been placed over and above the interest of the society. It is unfortunate that even those people who attempt to defend him are not safe from harsh criticisms. Emir Sunusi II is a blessing to the North. Forget about his globally recognized sound knowledge and intellect, it is not one of my concerns here, perhaps someday. What one should think about is the kind of problems the north has, the kind of people it has, the relationship between the causes of the problems and the people in the North. From this, one then jumps to the position of the Emir as a very much distinguished leader in north whom a lot of things are expected from. The Emir is well kn...