In a rare and enlightening encounter, a team of reporters from Science and Technology Monitor, a sister publication of Education Monitor newspaper, comprising Mahdi Waziri Isa, Latonia Akubuko, and Salome Yahaya, recently visited the Centre for Energy Research and Training at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. There, they had the privilege of conducting an in-depth and extensive interview with the Centre’s Director and Chief Executive Officer, Professor Sunday Ade Jonah, a distinguished scholar, scientist, and visionary leader, whose remarkable contributions to the advancement of science, technology, and education in Nigeria have left an indelible mark.
Professor Jonah is a colossus in the field of nuclear physics, renowned for his groundbreaking research, innovative ideas, and selfless dedication to the development of human capital in Nigeria. With a career spanning several decades, he has been instrumental in shaping the country’s scientific landscape, inspiring generations of scientists, researchers, and students, and fostering collaborations with international organizations and institutions.
A multiple award winner from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Professor Jonah has received numerous accolades and recognition for his outstanding contributions to science, technology, and education. His leadership and vision have been instrumental in the development of the Centre for Energy Research and Training as a hub for cutting-edge research, innovation, and capacity building in Nigeria.
Throughout his illustrious career, Professor Jonah has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to excellence, a passion for knowledge, and a dedication to the development of Nigeria’s scientific and technological capabilities. His legacy continues to inspire and motivate young scientists, researchers, and students, ensuring that his impact will be felt for generations to come.
In this exclusive interview, Professor Jonah shares his insights on various aspects of the Centre, including its history, potential, contributions, and the challenges hindering its development. His perspectives on the Centre’s evolution and growth offer a fascinating glimpse into the world of science and technology in Nigeria. Excerpts from the interview follow:
Science and Technology Monitor: Sir, tell us about yourself and your academic journey, where you started from and where you are today?
Director CERT: Thank you very much. I was born about 60 years ago in Kaduna to parents that are originally from South-Western Nigeria. I started my primary school at the then Baptist Primary School Kawo, Kaduna, and finished in 1973. I proceeded to the Government Secondary School (GSS) Kagoro, in 1973 and finished in 1978. From GSS Kagoro, we were the second set of students that wrote JAMB exams, and I got admitted to the University of Ilorin in 1979, and was enrolled in the BSc Physics program and finished in 1983 with a second class upper (2.1) degree. That was what got me a job at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU). The Centre for Energy Research that was in conception by the military administration of General Olusegun Obasanjo who decided to set up two nuclear research institutes dealing with nuclear energy and its development. And like the Nigerian dichotomy, one in ABU (north) and another one at the then University of Ife, which is now Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU (south). So those nuclear research Centres were set up and I was invited as the best graduating student of Physics in 1983 from the University of Ilorin to join the ABU nuclear program. Before joining the ABU nuclear program, however, I was working in Kaduna Polytechnic as a lecturer and I didn’t want to come to ABU because it would make me do Masters and PhD. I thought I have had enough in the undergraduate program and all those wahala, so I didn’t want to come to ABU. But somehow, fate had it that I would be coming here. So I joined ABU in 1985 as a Graduate Assistant, and I enrolled for my Master’s program in 1988 and PhD in 1995, and I rose to the rank of a Professor in 2004 as a Professor of Nuclear Physics.
Science and Technology Monitor: After having joined this Centre at a very tender age, that means you are conversant with its history. Can you tell us more about the Centre please?
Director CERT: Like I said the Centre was set up in 1976 by the then General Olusegun Obasanjo regime. And what led to the creation of the Centre was that the South African Government had acquired a lot of nuclear bombs and the capability to even develop more. So, this became worrisome for Nigeria, you know as Nigeria and South Africa are the supposedly leaders in Africa, and Nigeria didn’t want to be left out. Therefore, the then Head of State said we cannot leave South Africa to be making progress, let us also start something. And so he decided to set up nuclear research institutes, one in ABU and one in Ife, funded by the cabinet office under the auspices of the Head of State. And so the ABU Centre was initiated. As you know, nuclear is related to Physics, so the Centre started in the department of Physics in around 1986 under the Vice Chancellorship of Professor Ango Abdullahi, and the Centre started recruitment at that time, because there was nothing on ground. That was when people like me, graduates of Physics and graduates of Chemistry, were recruited, and there was provision of a lot of money to send them abroad for training because Nigeria had no postgraduate program in nuclear science and technology. So I was also recruited like I told you from the University of Ilorin and then the Centre started in the department of Physics under the Head of Department, before it was carved out as a Centre for Energy Research, under the auspices of then a Coordinator, who later became the first Director of the Centre, Professor Shamsuddeen Elegba, and the Centre got funding from the cabinet office, and these buildings were later constructed, so we moved from the department of Physics in 1996 to this present location. And that was how the Centre started.
Science and Technology Monitor: What are the core mandates of the Centre?
Director CERT: The core mandate of the Centre is application of nuclear science and technology for peaceful socioeconomic development of Nigeria, that’s the main focus. So we are not into anything bomb, even though that was the initial plan of the federal government, but it is not our mandate. Our mandate is application of nuclear science and technology for the advancement of Nigeria in the areas of agriculture, healthcare delivery, minerals analysis, education and training, even power and energy. But I must add here that, you know when you are learning a language, nobody teaches you the foul language, how to insult and all that, but you pick it along the way, and it is the one that sticks. So with regards to that, if you’re doing the peaceful application, it is also possible to pick the military application. By the way nuclear started with military application, since 1945 when bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States of America, which ended the second world war. So that was how nuclear started and that is why people are scared of nuclear. If electricity were to evolve by killing people, people will be scared of electricity. So that’s why people are scared of nuclear, because it was used to kill thousands of people. At that time, over 20,000 people were killed in like eight minutes, so you can see the devastating effect. That’s why it is called weapon of mass destruction.
Science and Technology Monitor: Sir do you see Nigeria becoming a nuclear power the way other countries are battling to become?
Director CERT: Well, when you say nuclear power, it is always confusing. Are you talking in terms of having capacity to generate power from nuclear (peaceful nuclear program)? Because when you say nuclear power, you may mean to say nuclear bombs so I need to know which one you mean.
Science and Technology Monitor: I mean nuclear bombs, do you have the capacity to get to that level?
Director CERT: Yes. Like I told you, when you are doing peaceful nuclear program, you also pick those other aspects which if the government is serious, it can be done. But you need to set aside funds and resources to encourage people to be able to do that.
Science and Technology Monitor: As a Pioneer staff of the Centre, and as a senior Professor, when, and how did you emerge as it’s director, several years after late comers and your students steered it’s affairs?
Director CERT: This is an appointment, and you know that power comes from God. Appointment as the Director of this centre is under the auspices of the Vice Chancellor. It is under the incumbent Vice Chancellor that I was saddled with the responsibility of becoming the Director of the centre. As an Academician, I can tell you that previously, the appointments were based on other considerations instead of purely merit. That was why even some of my students became Directors before me. But when this Vice Chancellor, Professor Kabiru Bala came, he said he would not toe that line, he would do things based on merit. In fact, I was in Vienna at the IAEA headquarters attending a technical meeting when I opened my WhatsApp and saw a letter of appointment dated 1st November, 2021, that I was appointed the Director of the Centre. As a Nigerian, I initially thought it was fraudsters trying to defraud me. So when I came out of the meeting, I made some confirmation calls, and it happened to be true that even the hardcopy of the letter had reached the Centre. So, it was from the Centre that they snapped it and sent to me. So I was oblivious, that’s why I believe that this came from God.
Science and Technology Monitor: It has become a popular Nigerian factor to see people taking it upon themselves to struggle for positions, but you’ve been here for a very long time, and you are saying you never lobbied to be director. You mean you had never made any attempts, even indirectly, to be appointed to this capacity?
Director CERT: Well, I must tell you the truth. I believe that rising to be the Director of the Centre should be on merit, so I kept doing my work. And I can tell you that during those days, I brought some significant projects to the Centre attracting research contracts from the International Atomic Energy Agency. The first was on the use of neutrons for interrogation of hydrogen in bulk materials. I developed a kind of facility for that which I can show you, we are trying to revive it. In 1996 I developed that facility and several other ones including the most controversial, which involve the conversion of the Nigeria research reactor from the use of highly enriched uranium to low enriched uranium. That project attracted over 500 million US dollars. It was in 2016, so if you convert it, I don’t know what the exchange rate was as at then, I can’t remember. But it was over 500 million dollars in terms of equipment and facility. You know the international community would not give you money, but they’ll give you facilities, training opportunities and so on. So we ran that project from 2016 until we got the reactor converted in 2018. And that money also involved the evacuation and repatriation of the highly enriched uranium fuel. Maybe I should explain that.
Highly enriched uranium fuel is like you’re using a fuel for your car that can be used to make petroleum bomb. Now we say no, the international community doesn’t want to have that in civil organisations like CERT, Universities and so on, so we should use the sort of fuel that cannot be used to make bomb like kerosene. We cannot use kerosene to make bomb, but we can do petrol bomb with petrol. So once you do that, it means you have to convert your engine to be able to burn kerosene to run your car. So that was exactly what we did. This highly enriched uranium fuel means, you know, in uranium we have two isotopes. Isotope is like you have your food made up of rice and beans. Rice is one aspect and beans is second aspect. So that’s what we mean by isotope. Rice has some compositions in the food, likewise beans. So we bring them together. That’s the same as the uranium isotopes; the U238, that’s uranium 238 and the U235. Coincidentally, it is the uranium 235 that you can use to make bomb. Just like your rice and beans, it’s beans that you get protein from. You can’t get enough protein from rice.
So for old people, we like more beans and small rice, but young people, they like more rice and small beans. So the process of increasing the content of beans and lowering the content of rice is what we call enrichment. So in the uranium fuel, we can lower the quantity of uranium 235 and increase the quantity of uranium 238. By so doing, we’re reducing the threat of getting enough quantity of uranium 235 to make nuclear bombs, so this is what we did. The fuel that was in the reactor over 90 percent of uranium 235, now we have reduced it to 13 percent, so it’s no longer a threat. And we didn’t change anything.
Science and Technology Monitor: If the need to reverse it arises, can you revert to that?
Director CERT: No there will be no need because reducing the enrichment to 13 percent did not in any way reduce the capability of the reactor to do all the R&Ds that we have been doing. If we want to increase it to the highly enriched uranium we can do that. I and a few of my students designed the new reactor core using computer codes, before we now involve the international community to help us import the fuel, because we don’t develop the fuel in Nigeria. But the design was done in-house by one of my PhD students and my humble self.
Science and Technology Monitor: Sir, can you tell us some of the Centre’s most significant achievements since its Inception?
Director CERT: Yes. I think the most important and significant achievement of the Centre is that we acquired, installed and commissioned the first and only nuclear reactor in 2004. That’s our most significant achievement in the year. And we developed capability to convert it from the use of highly enriched uranium fuel to low enrichment in-house. Because we designed the new core that the reactor is currently using in-house. That’s one of the greatest achievements of the Centre.
Science and Technology Monitor: What are the Centre’s primary research focus areas and how do they align with Nigeria’s energy needs?
Director CERT: Well, the primary focus area of research and development in this Centre is the peaceful application of nuclear energy science and technology in the areas of agriculture, healthcare delivery, power exploration and exploitation and most importantly developing human resource capacity that can take over and enhance the application of nuclear science in the country.
Science and Technology Monitor: Sir, can you tell us how the Centre collaborates with other research institutions, universities and industries to advance energy research and development?
Director CERT: Yes. Because of our advantageous position in nuclear science and technology, I must tell you that CERT is the leading nuclear science and technology Centre in the country, even compared to our sister Centre at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU). Why? Because we operate the nuclear reactor in the country and we have what we call a radioactive waste management facility where we store radioactive sources, and we store radioactive sources that are disused from the hospitals and petroleum industries. Therefore, we have signed several Memoranda of Understandings (MoUs) with some universities and research institutes, and even across the West African coast. We have MoU with Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) since 2022, we have MoU with the Federal University Dutsen-ma (FUDMA) from 2023, we have one with Bayero University Kano (BUK) in 2024, as well as the one we have with the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission that also operates the same type of reactor as Nigeria, because we want to be able to exchange capabilities, expertise and even share what we call spare parts. Because the spare parts to put this reactor in operation are not too common everywhere, they’re specific. So if we have some of what they need, and they have what we need, we’ll exchange those spare parts. Those are the four institutions that we have now established MoUs with. But apart from that, postgraduate units are at liberty to come here to use our facilities for their postgraduate training. Some have been coming since 2005, from the University of Calabar, from Obafemi Awolowo University to use the reactor for their projects in MSc and PhD.
Science and Technology Monitor: What training programs does the Centre offer and who are the target beneficiaries?
Director CERT: Yes. We have postgraduate diploma training in radiation protection and dosimetry. In fact, the first set has just graduated, about four or five of them, whereby they come here to take training in radiation protection and dosimetry, and they can work in hospitals and petroleum industries as radiation protection officers. In addition to that, we also offer training in reactor design, whereby we can get postgraduate students to come and use sophisticated nuclear reactor design codes to design nuclear reactors and other facilities. So we have those training programs. And we collaborate with institutions like the Customs and so on.
Science and Technology Monitor: May we know the key research projects and their impact on the energy sector, as it requires your services?
Director CERT: Mainly, what we are doing for the energy industry is how to use nuclear to generate electricity. As you know, we have shortfall of energy generation in the country. For a country of 200 million People we’re generating only about 5000 megawatts, it’s a shame! And nuclear energy is a base load nuclear resource that needs to be added to the Nigerian energy generation, but nothing has been done in that respect by the government. But as a research institute, we are doing research in that area, looking at the current trends, like the SMRs. It’s a kind of nuclear power that can be installed in geopolitical zones to generate electricity and if you don’t need it you can dismantle it. It’s a kind of modular, we call them SMRs, which stands for Small Modular Reactors, where you can install and dismantle whenever there’s no need of it. So we have capability whereby we can use stimulators to train people to become operators and regulators. They can come here and train on those stimulators. We have for the SMRs which is where the world is going. And even for the big nuclear power plant, when you talk about 3000 megawatts of nuclear power, like pressurized water reactors, boiling water reactors of this world that have been developed by the USA, Russia, China, Japan and Canada. So we have those simulators here. They are two types. We have the class room simulators which can be run on a computer, and then we have the full scope simulators, which is a replica of the nuclear power plant. The only thing that’s different is that your responses are coming from a computer, while the other ones are from the plant, that is what we use to train people. But we don’t get the full scope simulator until we have acquired the plant. It’s just like the simulators we have in aviation, whereby you can train pilots on flying planes without necessarily leaving the ground, it’s the same thing. So we have the class room simulator and full scope simulator. So if you want to have the full scope simulator, it comes with the plant, and we are talking about 30 billion US dollars.
Science and Technology Monitor: I don’t think Nigeria will be ready for that.
Director CERT: Well, perhaps in the future. Why not? We need power, we are not developing because we don’t have enough power.
Science and Technology Monitor: Sir you’ve recently secured a very huge grant from the IAEA to the tune of about 230,000 Euro, which is equivalent to 400 million Naira. What do you specifically want to use these funds for?
Director CERT: Thank you very much. When I became the director of the Centre in 2021, I understood that when the reactor was requested from the international community, it was to do what we call soil fertility mapping of arable lands in the country. It was on that basis that the IAEA decided that this is a viable project to enhance food capacity in a developing country. So when I became the director, I saw that there was a need to go back to the initial dream of the founding fathers. So what I did was, instead of using the old method of approaching organisations, let us do soil fertility mapping of the country, we decided to do a pilot project. To do a pilot project, we decided to look at four local governments. So I approached the Vice Chancellor, who graciously approved for us the funds to do pilot project in Giwa, Sabon Gari, Zaria as well as Kudan LGAs. These are four local governments around the university. So we took that money and did the soil fertility mapping. We sampled the soil, brought them to the lab, crushed them, did sample analysis using the reactor, and we got very good results for the four local governments and generated the fertility map. What we mean by fertility is the nutrients element in the soil. Elements that can support crop production, like potassium, calcium, phosphorus and what have you.
When you know the contents of these elements in your farm land, it will assist in the application of fertilizer. So that if you have a soil that is already rich in potassium for example, you don’t need to put NPK fertilizer. Otherwise it will be detrimental to the uptake by the plant, and therefore reduce productivity. So after getting the result, we decided to approach people. We approached the IAEA and we told them that the facility they provided to us in 2004 have been used to do this soil fertility of arable lands. They were glad and said now there’s issue of climate change, so they now added the climate smart agriculture project and gave us this grant. The project is a technical cooperation project under the IAEA department of technical cooperation. It is entitled; “Developing Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) Practices and Soil Fertility for Increased Crop Productivity and Contributing to Food Security in Nigeria.” And this resonates with Mr President’s Renewed Hope Agenda concerning food security. So the project was awarded in 2024 to start. And you know the IAEA will not give you the money, the project is supported to the tune of 230,000 Euros which is about 400 million Naira, and they are already providing us with the state of the art facilities like the XRF, that’s the X-ray fluorescent facility, which have been down for more than fifteen years and already moribund, so they are supplying a new one. Then there is the AAS, they are also supplying a new one, there is also the high purity germanium detector. Sorry these are technical terms that I can’t not explain. They are all on their way. And as we speak, we just sent six fellowship forms of our staff that would be traveling to countries like Bangladesh, where they have developed climate smart agricultural practices, especially for rice. And then Vietnam where they have also developed climate smart agricultural practices for cassava. So they will go there for two to three months, and they will come back and try develop the same thing in Nigeria. So this is what the project is all about. And they are also going to send experts missions from those countries or other countries to come and help us. Because we intend to develop Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for our farmers and researchers. We are going to develop pamphlets for them so that they can use them in enhancing their activities on farm, so as to increase food production. For instance, in Bangladesh, because of this smart agriculture practices, they have been able to increase their rice yield by 60 percent. You know this is a lot! If we can do that in Nigeria, it will increase food supply.
So this is what the project is all about. They will not give you the cash, but they expect that your government will financially support you.
Science and Technology Monitor: How do you think the expected outcome of this partnership with IAEA will affect the Nigerian citizens?
Director CERT: Like I said, we want to develop Standard Operating practices to increase the production of rice, corn and cassava.
Science and Technology Monitor: How can the farmers out there benefit from this?
Director CERT: We will develop pamphlets and we will use extension workers to get this information to them. I have already involved a professor from the National Agricultural Extension Research and Liaison Services (NAERLS). They are the people that interface directly with the farmers, so there is a Professor who is a member of the project management team I set up, because they are the ones that are conversant with the development of the standard operating practices for farmers. I have also involved a Professor from the Institute of Agricultural Research (IAR) soil science. Then I involved another researcher from the root crop institute, Umudike in Imo State, who is also part of the project. So with this, we have gotten all the stakeholders we need to be able to have impact of the project on the farmers, and then increase food security.
Science and Technology Monitor: Is money for all these parts of the grant, or it is for the Centre?
Director CERT: Yes. For some of the practices that we want to do like pamphlets and so on, this will be part of the 230,000 Euros. But to be able to go to states for sampling is not part of it. And that’s where the IAEA believes that the government of the country should come in. And in this respect, we have reached out to the ministry of agriculture and food security, and in fact, at the tail end of the Buhari administration, we got the then minister of agriculture to visit the Centre and he came here and was interested. He asked us to send the proposal and we did, but as usual, since it was at the tail end of his tenure, immediately he minuted the proposal to his director, they just kept it in the trash can. But we will go through the same process in the new administration. We are reaching out to the minister for agriculture, and the Tinubu administration has set up this National Agricultural Development Fund, and we have reached out to them, and when they saw what we were doing, they said it completely aligns with their mandate. But at that time, last year, they didn’t have any budget for that. So it will be in the 2025 budget and they will contact us.
We have also reached out to the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC), which is our mother agency that is directly funded by the federal government. We are not funded directly, we don’t have a budget line from Government.
Science and Technology Monitor: How would the Centre ensure the sustainability of the project outcomes beyond the grant period?
Director CERT: That’s what I was just explaining, that we need the backing of the federal government of Nigeria, either through the ministry of agriculture or through its agencies, they have to collaborate with us. Because when we develop these practices, it has to continue every year, and to be able to sustain it, we need funding. The Centre doesn’t get any direct budget from the federal government like I explained. Our budget line is through the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission, and you know by the time you are getting your money through somebody, he might hold back some of it. This is the problem we have between the local governments and states, and now the local governments want direct budget from the federal government. So we have the same issue.
Science and Technology Monitor: What message would you like to convey to the Nigerian government regarding the importance of supporting CERT?
Director CERT: The government needs to look into nuclear energy with regards to the peaceful application, in the areas of agriculture like this project we just got grant for, in healthcare delivery such as cancer therapy. The only way we can diagnose and cure cancer is by using radiation. Then we also have energy, our energy production is very low. For a country of 200 million People, we are just producing 5000 megawatts. It’s a shame! And we still want to industrialize with that, it’s not possible! So we need to look at nuclear, because it produces what we call base load, which means energy resource that you can use for industrialization. For example, a nuclear power plant can give you 3000 megawatts. If you put two together, it’s about 6000 megawatts, and we are just producing 5000 megawatts from all our resources, so we need to go into that.
Then, the federal government should look at developing capacity, because sustainability in the nuclear industry means you have young people that are being trained. I’m over 60 years now, I’m on my way out. By the time I retire, I need a young man to take over, otherwise, the knowledge would be lost. You know, they say when a professor dies, it’s like they’ve burned down a library.
Science and Technology Monitor: How can the government support the Centre’s research and training activities, and what specific resources or policies would be most beneficial?
Director CERT: When the Centre was first set up in 1976, it was financially supported directly from the cabinet office. And then later on, the Centre was moved to Energy Commission of Nigeria. And even under the Energy Commission of Nigeria, the Centre was still getting funding directly from budget line. But in 2006, when the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission was set up, the Centre and that of Ife were all moved to be under the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission with one envelope. So we don’t get our resources directly any longer from the cabinet office. So we now had to rely on what the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission is giving us. So for the centre to be sustainable, it needs to be supported directly through the national budget.
Science and Technology Monitor: Sir, what role does the Centre believe the government should play in promoting the development and use of renewable energy source in Nigeria?
Director CERT: Well, in fact, in Europe now, nuclear is being considered as renewable because we use uranium as our fuel, and now uranium is available in seawater, yes! And seawater is replenishable, so you can get uranium from seawater. The quantity of uranium that is available in seawater can sustain the running of all the nuclear power plant in the world. So that’s why the nuclear is being considered as a renewable energy source, once you can replenish it naturally. Why do we call solar renewable? Because the sun is replenished every day. So once you can replenish seawater and uranium is coming from seawater, so uranium is a renewable energy source.
So for government to do that, is to support financially and encourage institutions to develop capacity and human resources through education and training. That is the key for it to be sustainable.
Science and Technology Monitor: How can the government help to create a more enabling environment for the Centre to carry out its mandate effectively?
Director CERT: Like I said, everything is based on resources, as my people would say Ego. We need resources. They say “soup wey sweet, na money kill am!” (Pidgin). So government must provide resources, and it needs to fund nuclear science and technology very well and sustainably, not just once.
When the federal government set up the centre, they gave the seed money, and since then, it has not done anything except through budgetary provision. And the government needs to look at nuclear energy as a high skill area and encourage scientists to stay by paying them well and providing funds for facilities and training.
Science and Technology Monitor: What are the Centre’s plans for future research and development, and how do you see the centre evolving in the next 5-10 years?
Director CERT: Well, you know in 2022, what we envisaged was that security was the problem in this country, and because of that, we approached the IAEA and said we need to train our security agencies to be able to detect and interdict when it comes to nuclear and radiological materials, because they don’t have that capability. So we approached the IAEA and said the centre wants to set up a nuclear security teaching lab in the centre. So, you know the IAEA are always slow in responding, in 2024, they now sent us a letter through the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority, that they have approved that we set up a nuclear security teaching lab in the centre, and they going to support us by donating three important equipment. These include ten PRDs (Personal Radiation Dosimeters), which is important in teaching security agencies. Then they are going to supply us with three RIDs (Radioisotope Identifier Devices), which are what we can use when you bring anything that is suspected to be radioactive close to it, it will tell you what type of source it is, whether it is cobalt 60, cesium or manganese. That’s why it is called Radioisotope Identifier. And they are also going to give us backpack detector, which you can take to public places. So you will put it as a backpack, and if there is any radioactive source around, it would detect it. And this is very important in public events.
So these have been donated by the IAEA to the centre to start up this nuclear security teaching lab, which would be the first of its kind in Africa. In fact, the only place they have it is the IAEA headquarters in Vienna. So it’s a very good development for the country, but like I said, we still have issues. We have lab space for this, but we don’t have furniture, we don’t have computers, we don’t have audiovisual equipment to be able to set up that lab for teaching our security agencies in all parastatals. We will be able to teach them how to detect and interdict. So this is another stage we intend to go into in the next 2-3 years if we get government support.
Science and Technology Monitor: Do you think President Tinubu knows the capacity of this Centre at all? I think you should meet with the President and tell him your capacity.
Director CERT: Well, I’m just a university Professor, I don’t have access to him. I think, the thing to do is to go through our national agency, and we wrote and copied all this and sent it to the NAEC. So that is the problem we have actually.
Science and Technology Monitor: Can you please tell us more about your collaborations with other universities and fellow Centres?
Director CERT: Like I said, any university or research institute that want to collaborate with us, we are ready to sign an MoU with them like we have done with BUK, FUDMA, NDA and even across the West African coast. We are into collaboration with Ghana Atomic Energy Commission and they operate the only nuclear reactor in the country, and the two countries i.e Nigeria and Ghana, are the only countries operating nuclear research reactor in the sub-region. And Nigeria is also thinking of increasing the number of nuclear reactors in the country. Because of that, I was recruited by the NAEC in 2020 to assist in the development of what we call a multi-purpose research reactor for the country, which will run at ten megawatts and with which we can produce radioisotopes and radiopharmaceuticals for cancer therapy and diagnosis. So I’m the chairman of that project management team. But the project is very slow because the Americans showed interest in it and they contacted us, and we have had several meetings with the Argonne national lab. You know the Americans are interested in reduction of proliferation all over the world, so they joined because they want to see how to add proliferation resistance into the eventual research reactor that Nigeria would purchase. Because you know if the terrorists get hold of nuclear materials and bombs, the first place they will throw it is ……. So they’re always scared, that’s why they want to collaborate so that we will do it in a peaceful and sustainable manner that would encourage safety and security. So we have gotten to a stage now where we want to send out bids for the reactor to be purchased. But the money has been an issue, because that kind of reactor cost about 500 million dollars, and you know NAEC budget cannot cover that. So we have advised NAEC to request for special intervention fund from the government. We even drafted a kind of message so we that they can take it to the federal government, and we hope they can achieve that. But I have an opinion that we can approach it in another way, because we are going to the first lady of the country. Because in 2008 when late Yar’adua was around, the then first lady, Turai set up the first cancer centre in the country in Abuja, but since then nothing has happened. So if we can go to the first lady and tap her that Nigeria has set up a cancer centre in the country and we need radioisotopes. To get radioisotopes we have to import, and sometimes importation can be delayed because some of those radioisotopes have what we call half-life, and if we delay at the airport, the radioisotope would have decayed, and it cannot be used for the treatment anymore. But if we produce it somewhere in Abuja, is just to fly, maybe one hour to Enugu, one hour to Maiduguri and you can take it to hospitals for treatment. So we if we can convince the first lady and we can talk to the president, they can intervene. 500 million dollars is not too much for the federal government to invest. But that is the cost of the reactor, minus the cost of building.
Science and Technology Monitor: What other significant challenges can you say the Centre is facing in carrying out its research and training activities?
Director CERT: The first one is funding, the second one is funding and the third one is funding.
Science and Technology Monitor: What are the centre’s strategies for overcoming funding constraints and securing sustainable resources?
Director CERT: Very good question! What we are doing is that we have some capabilities of providing radiation protection services to hospitals and organisations like NNPC and Customs. This is where we generate revenue from. In fact, as we speak, we have just entered into a contract with NNPC to supply them with this TLD badges because they have radiation sources they are using in their petroleum industry. Those radiation sources can affect their workers. So it is compulsory that they give their workers TLD. So we purchase these TLDs and send to them to give their workers to use them. And they send them here for reading. So we generate funds from that. I can tell you that CERT receives four million Naira monthly from NAEC. Not even monthly, it is per release, and we get it sometimes, nine times in a year. So 4×9 is 36 million. We get 36 million in a year to run the centre. If not for this radiation protection services we are doing with hospitals, NNPC and Customs, our activities will not be sustainable.
In addition to that, like I told you that we have the only radioactive waste management facility in the country. It is a medium radioactive waste management facility where people bring their sources for us to keep, and we generate money from that more than the 36 million we get from the federal government, and that is how we sustain our activities.
Also, the research reactor is used to do analysis for the mineral industries and then the little we get from postgraduate students. We don’t charge much from them. We charge then very little to be able to sustain the running of the reactor. So this is how we get money.
Science and Technology Monitor: Sir, how does the Centre navigate the complexities of energy policy and regulation in Nigeria?
Director CERT: Well, the energy policy in Nigeria does not really constrain us. Because we have not gotten to a stage whereby we could use nuclear power plant. But we are in a stage where we can design. Like I told you in the case of the research reactor, we designed the core, but we were not able to produce it. We had to get it from abroad and like I told you, it was to the tune of about 500 million dollars, and the US financed it for us. And you know why they are doing it, it’s for their own safety. So the energy policy in Nigeria that I know is very positive about nuclear energy, to add nuclear energy to its energy source. In fact, this morning I spoke to the former Director General of the Energy Commission of Nigeria. That he is helping to promote nuclear energy, and we should help thank him. I said, “yes we are grateful to you, sir, because the energy policy you developed while you were there supports the deployment of nuclear power plant to add to the energy power source of the country.” So it is a very positive policy, but we have not gotten to the stage where we will talk about constraints or not. For now Nigeria wants to add nuclear to its energy needs.
Science and Technology Monitor: What are the Centre’s plans for addressing the impact of climate change on Nigeria’s energy sector?
Director CERT: Great! We have started with a project that we are using nuclear techniques for climate smart agriculture to develop standard operating procedures for us to increase the productivity of yam, cassava, maize and rice in the country. Like I told you, in Bangladesh, they were able to improve their production of rice by 60 percent using the same techniques. And this is where we are for agriculture.
For power, what we need to do is to deemphasize the use of greenhouse gases dependent sources, like burning of coal and oil and move into clean energy. And nuclear is one of the cleanest energy and in fact, it has been advanced as one of the energies that will dominate the energy and power industry of the world in the future. Because currently, we produce nuclear energy through what we call fission reaction. But now the world is going into development of nuclear energy from fusion. Fusion means bringing together light elements like hydrogen and fuse them together, while fission means splitting heavy nucleus like uranium and then from them you generate electricity. That is what leads to the possibility of proliferation. But fusion will reduce proliferation, and the energy that will be generated from fusion is much more than that of fission. That’s why the developed world is going into that area. And I think Nigeria needs to start developing capability to do R&D in fusion energy research, because that is the future. And I like late President Yar’adua said when he came into power, you know he was a chemist, he said that nuclear will be the only energy in the future, and I also think so. That in another 50 years, I may not be here nor even be in the world, but fusion and probably nuclear would be the only source of energy, and we are moving towards that.
The last two energy transition conferences that were held in the world has demonstrated that everybody in the world should move towards nuclear, because it is key and the future of nuclear energy is very bright.
Science and Technology Monitor: Thank you very much for your time and for educating us on things we couldn’t have known. We are highly educated and we really appreciate.
