Senator Lawan’s 7th term bid

To begin with, the 7th term bid of Senator Ahmad Lawan to the National Assembly should and or must follow all the due process of law. As the third citizen in the land and a lawmaker he must make sure that due process is followed. Anything short of due process will make one fault his bid. As politicians, both Sen. Lawan and Bashir Machina should sort themselves out.

However, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being in the National Assembly for many “terms” or “years” provided the lawmaker does his works of “lawmaking”, “oversight functions” and “representation” to the satisfaction of his people. An experienced, competent, result-oriented, and high-performing lawmaker is better than a novice. On the other hand, no matter the experience of a non-performing lawmaker he or she should be rejected.

It worries me to note that some social media “commentators” either due to lack of sufficient knowledge of what is obtainable in the American presidential system from where we “copy” our system or due to “mischief ” are castigating the 7th term bid of Senator Ahmad Lawan based on overstay.

Some people opined that it should be enough for Senator Lawan who would have served for 24 years by 2023, having served for eight years in the House of Representatives, and 16 years in the Senate.

Some people further argue that after all, even if he succeeds, he will only remain as an ordinary floor member, not a principal officer. It is important to state that principal officers are only first among equals. The business of lawmaking is beyond just being a principal officer.

In the United States of America, there are 20 longest served or serving senators including Robert C. Byrd from 1959- to 2010 (51 years, 5 months, 26 days); Daniel K. Inouye from 1963-to 2012 (49 years, 11 months, 15 days); Patrick J. Leahy from 1975-present (47 years, 1 month, 11 days); Edward M. Kennedy from 1962-2009 (46 years, 9 months, 19 days); and Orrin G. Hatch from Jan 3, 1977-Jan 3, 2019 (42 years).