During the October 2008 final review of Nigeria in Cotonou under the auspices of the African Peer Review Mechanism, African leaders noted aptly that Nigeria's human resources are its best national assets and that such assets should be deployed for the growth of the country and by extension, Africa.

The African leaders went further to point out that the human resources of Nigeria are more valuable than the country's oil assets both for Nigeria and the African continent. They have their reasons for judging Nigeria thus.

At home, President Umaru Musa Yar'adua has made the development of human capital as one of the key components of his 7-Point Agenda initiative, which is designed to speed up the socio-economic development of the country, with the overall objective of improving the wellbeing of majority of the citizens.

Indeed, Nigeria is blessed with a large pool of talented, experienced and well-trained citizens out of its 140 million population who have excelled in various human endeavours, making contributions to the progress of humanity, at home and abroad.

It is a well-known fact that Nigerians are active in all fields of engineering and in all branches of medicine, in the arts and in the academia, in journalism, in sports and in the science of mathematics and computing. Nigerians have contributed to human progress that the Nobel Prize in literature was once won by one of us; many others have made contributions through research and innovations that advanced the frontiers of science and technology.

A Nigerian is the top General in Darfur, coordinating peacemaking and peace keeping efforts in the troubled Sudanese region, saving and protecting lives; and in a way, protecting the territorial integrity of a sister African nation. This is a practical manifestation of the observation of the African Peers regarding the unquantifiable value of Nigeria's human resources and how those resources are of great benefit to both Nigeria and the continent as a whole.

The recently-reconstituted federal cabinet of President Umaru Musa Yar'adua contains high-calibre individuals who have admirable records of achievements both at home and abroad. They buttress what the African Peers said in Cotonou.

Professor Dora Akunyilli who distinguished herself as an honest person at the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) a scholar of great merits who made a name as an incorruptible public officer at the National Food and Drugs Administration and Control Agency (NAFDAC) is in the cabinet. She is now Nigeria's Minister of Information and Communications.

The Minister of Finance, Dr. Mansur Muhtar, a former University don and a renown economist who worked for the World Bank, African Development Bank and played a key role in winning debt relief for Nigeria as the Director-General of the Debt Management Office (DMO), is acknowledged, appreciated and accepted as an asset to the World, Africa and Nigeria in his area of specialization.

There is also Dr. Rilwanu Lukman, the Zaria-born mining Engineer, who through sagacity and hard work became a world-class oil industry technocrat sought after by companies and countries to tap his experience and expertise in oil matters. He was Nigeria's Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mines, Power and Steel as well as Foreign Affairs. He was recalled to function as a Presidential Adviser on Energy Matters, invited to serve as the Chairman of the Oil and Gas Implementation Committee which was set up by the Government to reform the oil and gas industry; appointed as Chairman of the National Council on Energy and is the main architect of the on-going efforts to revitalize Nigeria's problematic power sector. He is Nigeria's Minister of Petroleum Resources.

Dr. Rilwanu Lukman is bringing into President Yar'adua's cabinet his vast knowledge of the oil and gas industry, his international clout and his reputation as a smooth operator with a knack for success in all his previous assignments. He served as President of OPEC Conference eight consecutive times and served as its Secretary-general many times. This recognition and appreciation of his capacity to balance the interests of both oil producers and consumers made him an important bridge between the two sides and a strong pillar of stability.

If the global oil industry found it worthwhile to continuously tap his experience, pick his brains and gain from his capacity to deliver services for the benefit of humanity, it is proper for President Umaru Musa Yar'adua to tap his experience and competence for the benefit of the nation at this critical stage. This is more imperative in the context of the determination of the government to reshape the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry to ensure that it gives maximum benefits derivable to the country.

As Adviser to former President Obasanjo on Energy Matters, Dr. Rilwanu Lukman was credited with evolving a mechanism for the rapid implementation of the policy on local content in the Oil and Gas sector, including an accelerated programme for the training of Nigerians in the key engineering and technical fields required by the industry. As a result of that patriotic effort hundreds of qualified Nigerians are now employed in the Oil and Gas in the industry locally and abroad. More are under training in different engineering and technical fields relevant to the sector. The Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) is effective in helping Nigeria to achieve this national goal.

Many Nigerians feel that the major challenges he would face as Petroleum Minister include ensuring that Nigeria earns more money from Oil and Gas to finance projects enshrined in the 7-Point Agenda, the realisation of Vision 20-2020 and the implementation of the National Programme of Action (NPoA) under the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). He is also expected to devise means to end the costly importation of white products, redouble exploration to raise our oil reserves to at least 40 billion barrels and bring energy security to Nigeria. Given his experience, past record, disposition, deftness and a dedicated team under his umbrella, there is reasonable optimism and high expectations that he can do these and more as he settles down in the familiar terrain of a volatile sector.

Dambatta is a Deputy Director of Information in the Presidency.