Former President Uhuru Kenyatta was lauded for turning around Kenya's economy and other achievements during his tenure.
According to Nigeria's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, Uhuru took the country from a precarious position to a thriving economy.
"I wish at the very outset, on behalf of the president and the people of Nigeria, and I would indeed say, the people of Africa, to extend our deepest appreciation, and congratulations to you on the phenomenal role you play as President of Kenya," Onyeama stated on Tuesday, February 21.
Uhuru was in Nigeria as an election observer ahead of the country's polls scheduled for February 25, 2023. He flew out of the country on Tuesday, February 21.
While in Nigeria, Uhuru praised President Muhammadu Buhari for his continued efforts to ensure democracy and freedom of the people.
"President Buhari has been speaking about free, fair, and transparent elections and we are here today to see that his words turn into reality in the next few days," Uhuru added.
Furthermore, the former Head of State emphasised that some of the challenges faced by Nigerians and other African states were not unique, and different from those in developed countries.
"We are here to work together with our brothers and sisters of Nigeria as they exercise that fundamental right. There are many challenges, and we all know that" he stated.
Uhuru was praised for his emphasis on infrastructure during his tenure, with the Nairobi Expressway and hundreds of dams marking his legacy.
The former head of state was also bent on implementing his Big Four Agenda, which covered food security, affordable housing, universal healthcare, and manufacturing. These four pillars aimed to improve Kenyans' lives and create employment.
However, Uhuru was criticised for the increased public debt that weighed heavily on taxpayers.
When Uhuru took over in 2013, the public debt stood at Ksh1.89 trillion and was at Ksh8 trillion in March 2022.
Nonetheless according to data from the World Bank, from 2015 to 2019, Kenya's economy achieved broad-based growth averaging 4.8 per cent every year significantly reducing poverty (which fell to an estimated 34.4 per cent.
In 2020, during the pandemic which disrupted the economy, the agricultural sector remained resilient, helping to limit the contraction in GDP to only 0.3 per cent.
A year later, in 2021, the economy staged a strong recovery, growing at 7.5 per cent. GDP growth was also projected to increase by 5.5 per cent in 2022.
