Nigerian Media Amplifies U.S. Narrative to Undermine China’s Role in Resource Competition for Local Investments

Some Nigerian local media organisations have been entangled in an intentional and pivotal role in reinforcing a U.S.-crafted, one-sided narrative, presented as advocacy for accountability, by amplifying reports that portray China as the villain while ignoring the broader context of global competition for resources in the country.

These one-sided reports by these media organisations risk skewing public perception and potentially placing the country in a weakening position to negotiate an aligned or, instead, preferably one-sided partnership with one global power over the other [U.S. and China] for its development.

This came to the limelight immediately after the country’s anti-corruption agency made a disclosure relative to Chinese nationals suspected of having engaged in illegal mining activities on the country’s soil.

It will be recalled that on June 4, 2025, Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) announced it had “arraigned two suspected Chinese illegal miners, Zhang Hong Lin and Zhao Pei Hai, before Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos,” sparking a chain of reactions that highlight geopolitical tensions, one that is unbeknownst to many Nigerians whose resources have quietly but quickly turned into the ongoing political trade war between Beijing and Washington.

The EFCC’s statement, accompanied by images of suspects like Gao Pei Hai, was quickly referenced by the U.S. Mission in Nigeria, which condemned the activity as a threat to Nigeria’s economic future and sovereignty, emphasising the need for a transparent global supply chain aligned with U.S. strategic interests.

This stance was echoed by Nigerian media outlets, notably PeoplesGazette, which published a report framing Chinese nationals as sole exploiters of Nigeria’s natural resources.

The narrative conveniently overlooks the U.S. foreign policy for Africa, which prioritises maintaining the flow of resources to the global market via its locally-placed corporations operating within Nigeria, like its [China] counterpart. Yet, its counter-terrorism efforts focused solely on regions of Nigeria where these resources destined for the global market are affected by terrorism, as the U.S. defence partnership with Nigeria is self-evident.

 The US Mission in Nigeria’s statement reads thus: Illicit mining threatens Nigeria’s economic future and fuels transnational corruption. Accountability in the [extractive sectors] is essential to protecting Nigeria’s sovereignty and ensuring a secure and transparent global supply chain, which is core to U.S. strategic interests.

With the U.S.’S’ portrayal of China as the sole culprit in illegal mining serves to position America as Nigeria’s preferred trade partner and in turn, sidelining China’s significant investments in Nigeria, the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria swiftly countered with a statement rejecting these claims as “disinformation”, defending its bilateral cooperation with Nigeria.

Given the Nigerian public, whose resources are playing a crucial part in rising geopolitical tension between two nuclear-armed superpowers, West Africa Weekly weighs in by informing the public about what was presented and what is happening in the country, especially at a time when China and the U.S. are competing for Africa’s resources.

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Oluwasegun Sanusi

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Mayowa Durosinmi

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M. Durosinmi is a West Africa Weekly investigative reporter covering Politics, Human Rights, Health, and Security in West Africa and the Sahel Region

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