Mr. Simon Mallam is the President, Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission. In this interview with ABIOLA ODUTOLA, he outlines the reasons Nigeria hasn’t got a nuclear plant yet, but says there is no danger inherent in having one. Excerpts:
How would you rate Nigeria among developed nations in nuclear energy as a source of power generation?
Though our country has been in the nuclear field for a while now, its journey so far has been a little bit bumpy.
Why?
We decided to be involved in nuclear activities in 1976, which led to the establishment of the Nigerian Energy Commission, but it took the government 30 years for the commission to be activated.
Does that mean we went to sleep for 30 years?
The government launched two centres; one in Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, and the other at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria. Both centres have been involved in quite a number of activities to the extent that we have a research reactor at the centre in Zaria, which became critical in 2004 and we have a standing accelerator at Ife. Along the line, government took a decision to set up a Science and Technology Complex, which took off in 1992 with an intention to set up a 30-megawatt research reactor but this had its own problems.
Later, government set up an irrigation facility, which we all know about and it was commissioned during the Obasanjo presidency in 2007. At the inception of the activation of the commission in 2006, the commission was charged to start a nuclear power plant programme and this is what we have been pursuing. If you ask me, there is nuclear applicator everywhere in the country, from medicine to radiotherapy, in agriculture and several other spheres.
However, as a coordinated programme, it is our responsibility to prop it up, which we are doing and we are gradually setting up the different level of infrastructure, working with technical partners to set up a regime as well as build a much bigger reactor in the country.
People might be afraid because of one or two reasons but I would say categorically that it is safe, and we would do whatever it takes to educate and engage Nigerians, not just on safety but also on the need for a nuclear energy system
Do we have any plant now?
Nigeria doesn’t have a nuclear plant yet but we have a programme to develop them. I don’t want to give a particular date yet so that Nigerians don’t wake up on that day and say I promised them this and that. I am not in that game. We have to be realistic; nuclear energy is not something you just switch on. It is a deliberate plan; you have to get it right from the onset, because it is not like our gas plants that we switch on and off as we like. It is simply off the grid. You have to get the appropriate infrastructure; you have to dredge to be able to move very heavy equipment to the site. Government has to provide the right infrastructure on ground.
What is the cost of building?
I cannot specifically give any figure because it depends on the type you want to build and the infrastructure you have. It also depends on location and several other factors. But going by the rule of thumb, it is about 5,000 dollars per kilowatt of energy; so if you take a thousand megawatts plant, you are talking of about $6 billion. As you improve the safety of the plant and its longevity, the price may go up significantly. A nuclear power plant is not a thing of one generation; it can last between 60 and100 years, so you have to be careful and concise when you want to venture into it. We want our first plant to generate between 1,000 and 1,200 megawatts.
Nigatom was at the 2018 AtomExpo Conference in Russia. What lesson did your outfit gain from the event and what are you plans for the country, regarding nuclear energy?
The international event offered us opportunity to discuss some of our cooperation, drafts, agreements and some negotiations. We have several plans and though we may not like to disclose them all now, we are certainly in negotiations with Russia regarding several issues.
There are fears attributed to the construction of nuclear plants. How do you address them?
The regulatory body has to ensure that things are done properly and we are putting in place the entire appropriate infrastructure, in terms of planning, in terms of technology selection, partnership building, and appropriate sourcing of human resources, because these are all the things that contribute to the safety and security of the plants.
I don’t have to jump out and start making noise; I believe in talking to the appropriate groups at the appropriate time. I don’t want to talk of its safety with mouth alone; instead, I will present the facts and organise talk shows to educate people. Nuclear energy has the least waste compared to other energy sources. The C02 that we are emitting, nobody talks about it; the acid rains, nobody talks about that, but a nuclear plant plans the disposal of its waste from the start. People might be afraid because of one or two reasons but I would say categorically that it is safe, and we would do whatever it takes to educate and engage Nigerians, not just on safety but also on the need for a nuclear energy system.
Considering the economic lull, can we meet the mid 2020 target?
We will do our work and leave government to do theirs, to provide the necessary tools. All the governments we have had have been supportive of these plans; right from Obasanjo to Yar’Adua; then Jonathan and the present government. Funding depends on the exigencies of government and as we know, there are so many issues fighting for the available money at hand, and you have to be able to balance the budget so that everyone gets a piece.
