Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, have come under heavy criticism for his controversial remark in Zaria in an interactive session organised by Arewa Joint Committee. ” What the average northerner needs is a northern President who understands the other parts of Nigeria, who can build bridges across the rest of the country, ” he said.
” I have traversed the whole of this country, I know the whole of this country. I have built bridges across this country. I think what the average northerner needs is somebody, who is from the north and who understands other parts of Nigeria, who have been able to build bridges across the rest of the country. This is what the northerner needs. He doesn’t need a Yoruba candidate nor Igbo candidate. That is what the northerner needs. So, I stand before you as a pan Nigerian of northern origin.” 
Nigerians have continued to read varying meanings to the speech. At a time the country is so divided along ethnic and religious lines, needing unification and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar who have described self as unifier, has his speech validated his claim of Unification or is he playing the ethnic card ?
View his speech below:
