...NEW IAEA CHIEF MAKES NIGERIA FIRST POINT OF CALL
Yukiya Amano

In July, 2009 the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) appointed a new Director General, Yukiya Amano. However, he only took over from El Baradei on December 1, 2009. Barely thirteen days later he made his first official visit. Point of call? - Nigeria. Such is Nigeria's new found global relevance.

It is reported that his visit is to pave the way for effective partnership between the global watchdog and Nigeria's authorities towards ensuring accessibility to requisite infrastructure for the success of the planned nuclear programme.

Nigeria has been a member of the IAEA since 1968 and prior to this time, it has enjoyed the technical support of the global body in such other related areas as, nuclear medicine, radiotherapy, water resources and others. This is Nigeria's first attempt at building a nuclear plant and the IAEA is not taking it for granting even as it has given its nod to the project.

Yet there are skeptics among Nigerians who question the decision to venture into such sensitive projects given its enormous challenges and perceived current incapacity to efficiently manage the challenges of the prevailing power sector.

However, such pessimism, as well founded as they may be, can easily be erased on account of the following: (1) the project can fast track solutions to the current challenges posed by incapacity to meet domestic demands for power; (2) it brings Nigeria and internal management structure under the influence of the IAEA and its strict safety, procedural and management standards; and (3), the technical collaboration with IAEA is bound to rub off efficiently on the output of the project.
Rather worry about our internal ability to manage such gargantuan project, what should bother us more at this time should be international enemies of Nigerian progress-individuals, groups and States that have sworn to stiffle the country's development for their own selfish ends. We should look out for emergence of international politics over the Nigerian project. As for their local co-conspirators; their cabals and syndicates would not work this time around, except their foreign co-conspirators are in control of the IAEA, which is unlikely, at least presently.
So let us relish in the feelings of this newly found global status that Nigeria is positioned to enjoy. Amano's visit simply tells us that the Nigerian nuclear power project, is at the front burner of global interest. For whatever reasons, it is a fresh global influence, which we must not allow to retard.