Opposition political parties in Nigeria have been urged to engage the government of the day through constructive criticism while placing the national interest ahead of partisan considerations.
Former Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta stated this at the third Ministerial Performance Retreat held at the Presidential Villa Abuja.
Uhuru Kenyatta who made a presentation on enabling delivery and managing transition in the Kenyan experience observed that no nation can develop without stability and that stability can only be achieved when politics is being played with decorum.
He recalled that during his first term in office, one of the major issues he had to deal with was an opposition that would condemn every government policy regardless of how good it was.
Mr. Kenyatta narrated how the opposition reached its peak during the heat of the twenty seventeen general elections when the election had to be repeated after it was nullified by the Kenyan Supreme Court, as the opposition refused to accept the result.
He said after that incident he realized that there was a need to rethink the way politics was being conducted in Kenya, by making political parties more concerned about national development than partisan rivalry.
Mr. Uhuru Kenyata maintained that at times of emergency, political stakeholders in a country can come together to a government of national unity in order to promote their collective national interest.
The former Kenyan president pointed out that while in power he worked hand in hand with the opposition to move the country forward.
Mr. Kenyata noted that he had no regrets over his decision to carry the opposition along in running the country, as that measure was what helped them have a peaceful transition at the end of his tenure in office.
Bello Wakili