During a meeting with Qatari Prime Minister, His Excellency, Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, in Doha, the former Kwara State governor raised the issue of visiting visa restrictions weighing down on many Nigerians. He urged the PM to look into the issue and review Qatar's visa policy concerning Nigerians.

Such a diplomatic intervention is one in a long line of many that the 8th Senate embarked on to strengthen Nigeria's profile globally.

The 8th Senate will cease to exist when the 9th Senate is inaugurated next week, but its valiant efforts to make life easier for Nigerians through strategic relationships with foreign governments will stand the test of time. The Senate, under Saraki's leadership, initiated several legislative engagements that aimed to improve the nation's lot.

When he addressed the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation (Senate of Russia) in June 2018, Saraki was very clear in stating his wish for a mutually beneficial partnership capable of unleashing untapped potential between both countries.

More importantly, he made it crystal clear to his Russian counterparts that if the European nation intends to make any meaningful in-roads into Africa and its array of rich untapped potentials, it'll be smart to go through Nigeria.

"Nigeria's leadership role in Africa is unassailable. An improved relationship between us would be a definitive pathway to a stronger relationship with the whole of Africa," he noted.

The three-day parliamentary visit to Russia was configured to strengthen the relationship between both countries and was an extension of the 8th Senate's legislative influence past Nigeria's borders.

Several other lawmakers of the 8th Senate also made the trip to hold side meetings with corresponding committees of the Federation Council of Russia.

Lawmakers on the delegation include then-Senate Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio; Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Olusola Adeyeye; Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Senator Monsurat Sunmonu; Chairman, Senate Committee on Air Force, Senator Duro Faseyi; Chairman, Senate Committee on Sports and Youth, Senator Obinna Ogba; and the Vice-Chairman, Senate Committee on Army, Senator Ibrahim A. Danbaba.

The trip was simply another in the 8th Senate's campaign to sell Nigeria's positive image to the global community and ease its citizens, as much as possible, through its difficult years of economic turbulence.

When he delivered a keynote address at Georgetown University, Washington D.C's Africa Business Conference in February 2018, Saraki made a case for quality higher education and the creation of the right conditions and opportunities for entrepreneurship and employment in Nigeria and Africa.

He spoke glowingly about how Africa's youthful population can be an invaluable resource to the world if exploited properly and afforded all the right opportunities by the global community.

"A large youth population such as ours means a huge market in terms of consumption, services and labor. However, for Africa to benefit from the demographic dividends that a massive youth population offers, we must make the right investments in quality higher education and create the right conditions and opportunities for entrepreneurship and employment. No African country can do this alone," he said.

As part of efforts to advance Nigeria's cause and better integrate the country with global partners, Saraki inaugurated the Nigeria-Morocco Parliamentary Friendship Group in October 2017. The partnership was initiated to open a gateway for strategic partnership between the two countries.

He had said, "It is expected that the public and private sectors of both countries would collaborate to leverage on the abundant opportunities to create sustainable economic growth in the region. I have no doubt in my mind that Nigeria and Morocco's relationship is at all-time best, thus we must do everything possible to maintain and strengthen this unique cooperation.

"Our role as parliamentarians is to formulate legislations that will build on the already blooming relationship between our countries and create ripple effects across Africa."

The 8th Senate's most pronounced accomplishment is its commitment towards ensuring that Nigerians are equipped with every possible opportunities to achieve their potentials inside the country's borders or outside of them.

The Red Chamber passed the Diaspora Commission Bill in 2017 to provide for legitimate budget items to address Diaspora issues with seriousness and engagement of Nigerians in diaspora in the policies, projects and participation in the development of the country.

The bill established a commission charged with the responsibility of coordinating and organising Nigerians in and from the diaspora to contribute human capital and material resources to Nigeria's growth.

Swift passage of the bill was one of the key issues tabled when the Senate met with the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) just the previous year, revealing that the chamber is sensitive to issues that bother ordinary Nigerians.

With the well-documented menace of human trafficking that has plagued the country with thousands departing the country in droves for greener pastures abroad, the 8th Senate organised a roundtable on human trafficking which was attended by all relevant stakeholders.

At the February 2018 round-table, the Senate called on the international community to collaborate more with the Nigerian government in its quest to end the menace of irregular migration and human trafficking concerning Nigerians. Short and long term strategies were proposed as a way of putting an end to the crisis.

For the 8th Senate, national politics is not where its legislative influence should be restricted to, which is why it made several international overtures as long as it served the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians and, sometimes, Africa and Africans.

When he addressed the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament in 2016, Saraki called for deeper economic integration and effective security for people in the sub-region.

There are a few notable Senators, including Saraki himself, that'll not return to the 9th Senate after losing their re-election bids. This means that when the 9th Senate is inaugurated next week with new leaders, there are pretty big shoes to fill.

This is a featured post.