Lagos — With the laying of the foundation stone for the construction of Nigeria's first Low and Intermediate Radioactive Waste Management Facilities in Abuja last month, it has become obvious that the country is getting closer to realising its ambition of building a nuclear reactor for power generation. But is Nigeria ready for nuclear power? 

On the November 9, the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Alhassan Bako Zaku laid the foundation stone for the construction of Low and Intermediate Radioactive Waste Management Facilities inside the premises of the Nuclear Technology Centre in Sheda Science and Technology Complex, Abuja. When completed, the facility would be used to condition and treat solid and liquid radioactive wastes in the country.

Also to be built inside the Science and Technology complex is a Researchers' Hostel which is expected to provide accommodation for on-field as well as visiting researchers. The ceremony was historic because it marked another milestone in the country's march towards the full acquisition and deployment of nuclear capabilities for industrial use. And, this fact was not lost on the minister as he declared that the country would soon use nuclear technology to generate electricity.

According to him, the building of the waste management facilities and hostel were manifestations of the Federal Government's commitment to the development of the "requisite scientific and technological infrastructure" necessary for the actualisation of the government's dream of providing efficient and reliable electricity through the use of nuclear energy.

As if on cue, less than a month after this ceremony, the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC) presented what it called the Strategic Plan for the Implementation of the National Nuclear Power Programme in Abuja. At the occasion which was organised in conjunction with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Senate President, Senator David Mark declared that Nigeria must take advantage of the options provided by nuclear science to generate its electricity.

He said it has become obvious that national electricity supply, built as it is, on hydro, gas and oil is grossly inadequate for the country's current and future needs. He also noted that these energy sources are too narrow and needed to be diversified for long-term energy security. He therefore advised that Nigeria must begin to lay the groundwork to address its energy needs to positively impact on her technical and socio-economical sectors.

Speaking at the presentation, Dr Vincent Nkong-Njock, the representative of the Director General of IAEA, declared that the international atomic watchdog fully supports Nigeria 's ambitions to build a nuclear power plant to meet its growing energy needs. He however noted that the National Strategic plan was important because a nuclear power programme is a complex project which requires the investment of huge national resources in time, finances and human resources. As a result, he said there must be careful planning and preparation.

He said, "The development of an appropriate infrastructure to sustain the introduction of nuclear power is an issue of primal importance and should be painstakingly developed, exercising the necessary caution. This entails the provision of the necessary resources including human, financial and logistic, to create the appropriate technological, economic and social conditions that will adequately support the establishment of sustainable national infrastructure able to absorb a nuclear power plant."

With the presentation of the strategic plan and IAEA's vote of confidence in the country's efforts finally confirmed Nigeria's determination to use nuclear energy to generate electricity and for other industrial uses. But with this confirmation comes several fundamental questions. Most poignant of these basic questions is: Is Nigeria ready for nuclear energy? Then, there are other questions like can Nigeria run a nuclear plant or can it maintain one?

According to published reports, construction work is expected to start in less than two years on the reactor which is to be built in Abuja . Power production is expected to commence in 2017. And, power generation is to rise gradually until it peaks at around 4,000 megawatts in 2025.

In spite of its touted advantages, the biggest source of concern in nuclear technology is safety. Radioactive waste products from nuclear reactors are very dangerous and need to be carefully stored for long periods of time. If not properly managed, leaks can cause immediate deaths and spread through vast areas quickly and consistently over long periods. In fact, Greenpeace, the international environmentalist organisation campaigns against nuclear power because "it is an unacceptable risk to the environment and to humanity." Many people who spoke with THISDAY on the country's ability to own and operate a reactor believe that safety is a tall order for the country considering its careless handling of very important matters.

Mrs Abimbola Ojo is a secondary school teacher. For her, there is no question about it: Nigeria is not ready for nuclear power. She insisted that the country cannot safeguard the lives of anyone living anywhere close to wherever the plant is going to be sited. "As soon as we heard the latest news on the issue, all I could think of was the story of Chernobyl . You remember Chernobyl in the former Soviet Union ? I think that was in 1986. That nuclear accident killed thousands of people. That was a developed country. Imagine such an accident in Nigeria ? It would be terrible", she said.

Ali Oguntade, another teacher, agrees with Ojo. He however insists that the country ought to take full advantage of the present sources of power generation before turning to nuclear energy. He wondered why we are talking about a very complex system like nuclear power when the country has not taken full advantage of renewable sources like hydro or solar power. He said in spite of the celebrated efficiency of nuclear power generation, it still accounts for less than 20 percent of the electricity generated in the world. This suggests that other means of power generation are still very popular and in use across the world.

"So, if we cannot operate the easy ones like hydro or turbine generated electricity efficiently and effectively, what makes us think we can operate the more complex nuclear energy better? We are only trying to run away from our problem by singing the nuclear power song right now. Is it not Nigerians that will run the reactor? Does Ghana have a nuclear reactor? Is the Ghanaian government not providing constant electricity? Nuclear energy is not the solution. Instead, it would only create more problems", he declared.

These misgivings are by no means misplaced. There must be assurances that the reactor would be built and run according to international best practices. A lot would have to be done however, if we are to achieve anything near best practices. Here, questions must be asked about how the country has been managing its present sources of energy. None of the country's power generation stations is operating at full capacity at the moment. When questions are asked, a string of excuses are often given in place of concrete explanations and proclamations on the way forward.

So, when power generation drops, it is either because water levels have dropped or there are hiccups in the supply of gas. Sometimes, when there are admissions that there are breakdowns, it takes ages to repair or replace the broken parts. In most cases, the spare parts are ordered only after the breakdowns have occurred! Such practices are surely no confidence builders on the road to the acquisition of reactors. There can be no excuses. Besides, care and strict adherence to processes and procedures are key to the successful operation of nuclear power plants. There can be no shoddiness; otherwise, accidents would happen and people would die.

One other issue at the heart of the nuclear energy debate is corruption. It is a known fact that it costs a lot of money to build nuclear plants. But it is also a known fact that high budget projects are opportunities for pilfering of public funds. In the nuclear plant project therefore, politicians and bureaucrats may see an opportunity to steal money with reckless abandon. The multi-billion dollar Ajaokuta steel project is an example of such gargantuan projects that provided politicians and civil servants major lee ways to rob the nation blind. And, ominously, the FG has a nuclear energy cooperation agreement with Russia , the same country that built and delivered the Ajaokuta disaster!

But while we have been able to live with the Ajaokuta debacle for so many years without losing too much sleep, the same cannot happen if corrupt officials and their dubious international partners foist a defective nuclear plant on the country. Unfortunately, no one can say for certain that those in charge would not turn a big nuclear plant project into a national disaster by compromising standards and other requirements just to make some extra bucks.

Muhammad Abubakar, a Kano based public affairs commentator is sure the project would suffer unprecedented rape from politicians and civil servants. According to him, what is happening to the efforts of the FG to increase power generation is a concrete pointer to what would happen to the nuclear project.

His words: "A lot of money has gone into the power generation project since (President Olusegun) Obasanjo became President in 1999. Apart from the normal projects, they also started National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) and billions of naira has been spent on all these projects from 1999 to date. But, have we seen any improvements? There have been no improvements because those in charge are stealing all the money and delivering dummies to the nation. I can tell you, for example, that more than half of the transformers bought by the Obasanjo regime are in the hands of traders in our markets.

How then can we have electricity?

"With nuclear power, it would be worse. These people don't care what happens to the masses. People would be talking about safety and so on, but the politicians and civil servants would only see opportunities to make money and go for it no matter what happens. At the end of the day, we would have a substandard facility that can go faulty at any time. So, we would only be inviting disaster with nuclear reactors."

Then there is the issue of security. From the moment the first brick of the complex is cemented into place to the commissioning of the plant, there must be impregnable security. The reason is obvious; radioactive materials must never be allowed to leave the complex. In the wrong hands, such materials can become weapons of war. Here, the issue of security is in fact, double-edged. On the one hand, there must be security for the complex itself. The first question is, can Nigeria guarantee that the complex would always be secure? Atlas cove is still fresh in the memory; all Nigerian security organisations were caught napping when a couple of boys from the Niger Delta attacked this very important jetty.

The second aspect of security has to do with corruption. Can there be adequate assurance that those who would operate or be responsible for the security of the plant would not compromise the security of the place for a few dollars? Some officers and men of the Nigerian army are still on trial for selling arms to Niger Delta militants, the boys they were supposed to be fighting in the creeks!

There is also the issue of politics. Apart from economic considerations, politics must always come in when major issues like this are being considered. For example, it is certain that Europe and America may not support our ambitions because they are afraid of the security implications. So, we may be forced to turn to Russia or even the so called rogue nations with nuclear capabilities. Would Nigeria handle the politics (domestic and international) well enough not to endanger the project? In Nigeria , political will seems to weaken at critical moments. For, example, the country has not been able to stop gas flaring after so many years of warning and threatening.

There are, no doubt, a lot of things to worry about. But that is only to be expected; a nuclear reactor is a major leap that must raise questions. How these questions are addressed may as well be a pointer to how the project itself would be run. One thing that is certain, however, is that the FG must be a lot more transparent about the proposed nuclear project. People should know every detail. They need to understand the advantages and disadvantages as well as the dangers posed by the project. As many proponents of nuclear power generation would insist, the future of power generation may be nuclear energy. So, Nigeria may as well jump on the bandwagon as early as possible. But a lot still has to be done before we become ready for a nuclear reactor.