Is it possible for Nigeria to have a nuclear weapons

[Emmydegreat]

With several factors in view, both domestic and international, it is very unlikely that Nigeria will become a nuclear weapons country any time soon. Some of these factors include the following:

1. International Treaties and Commitments:

• Treaty on Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons - NPT: The country Nigeria has joined the Non-Proliferation Treaty, NPT, created to block the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Under this Treaty, Nigeria has abandoned nuclear options against peaceful nuclear technology.
• Pelindaba Treaty: On the continent, Nigeria has signed the Pelindaba Treaty, where African countries are prohibited from developing, acquiring, or possessing atomic weapons.

2. Financial and Technological Limitations:

• High Costs: Nuclear weapons development requires an extraordinary investment of money and technology. Most developing countries like Nigeria have tight economic budgets for these operations. The money will be required to be diverted from major infrastructure, health, education, and social services.
• Apparatus Capabilities: Although Nigeria has an emerging nuclear energy program for peaceful purposes, it has not acquired the additional technological infrastructure necessary to manufacture a nuclear weapon.

3. International Pressure and Sanctions:

Global Deterrence: No step on the part of Nigeria toward nuclear weapons would be met with anything but international protest from great powers and international bodies. Economic sanctions, diplomatic isolation, and other ways of pressure have been applied to countries trying to develop nuclear weapons outside global agreements, as in cases of North Korea and Iran.
• African Union: Nigeria would also be at risk, in status with the African Union, and all other international organizations also, since most African nations have declared an intent to remain nuclear-weapon-free.

4. Stress on Use of Nuclear Technology for Peaceful Purposes:

• Nuclear Energy: Nigeria has a growing nuclear energy program, primarily for electricity generation and other medical purposes. The country operates with research reactors and is considering nuclear power as one of its alternatives to its increasing demand for energy. For this matter, it falls under the care of the Nigerian Atomic Energy Commission in cooperation with such international organizations as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
• IAEA Safeguards: Nuclear activities within Nigeria are put under IAEA safeguards and inspections to ascertain that any nuclear materials availed to the country are used for exclusively peaceful purposes.

5. Political and Security Landscape:

• Regional Stability: Nigeria is torn apart by so many internal security challenges, from terrorism to insurgency and ethno-religious conflicts. These, again, make the development or prioritization of a nuclear weapons program unlikely when stability and development remain key priorities.

However, as Nigeria pursues its peaceful nuclear program of energy development, international obligations, in addition to economic constraints and political factors, make it highly improbable that the result should turn out to be a nuclear-weapons country; the focus is on peaceful applications of nuclear technology for development.