THE outgoing Muhammadu Buhari regime has surprisingly maintained aloofness to the allegation that the People’s Republic of China is indirectly involved in the sponsorship of terrorists, especially in the terror-torn North.

On April 15, 2023, The Times, a UK-based daily, published an exclusive story alleging that Chinese nationals were involved in bribing some Jihadi terrorist groups to gain access to the mineral deposits in areas under their control. According to The Times, “Beijing could be indirectly funding terror in Africa’s largest economy”.

The paper disclosed: “In one pocket of Zamfara, researchers found, interactions with militants run so deep that some serve as runners for Chinese miners who have spread throughout Nigeria, controlling digs for gold. The country has some of the largest gold reserves in the world… In 2020, 27 miners, including 17 said to be Chinese, were arrested in Osun State. Last October, a Chinese citizen…was jailed for five years after being found with 25 tonnes of a mineral thought to be lepidolite, containing lithium, which is used in batteries”.

The Chinese Embassy described the report as “baseless” and based on “unverified, unclear and unproven information”, adding that the country always urges its companies and nationals to abide by the laws of Nigeria. This rebuttal notwithstanding, Chinese companies have been reported to be illegally deforesting Enugu State to make charcoal which is smuggled to China. It has also reportedly been devastating Ghanaian forests, mostly to exploit rosewood.

China’s economic predatory style in Africa is not a hidden menace. Capitalising on the large amount of loans it has been advancing to many poor countries, China has virtually indirectly seized political authority in some Third World countries which are unable to repay, notably Sri Lanka. In 2020, the government of Zambia courted outrage when it unveiled some Chinese “reservists” fully decked as senior officials of the Zambian Police.

African countries owe China about $696 billion, out of which Nigeria’s indebtedness is $6.732 billion (March 2023). While we point accusing fingers at China which is merely helping itself to an opportunity, what about our own highly-placed or connected rogue nationals who engage in illegal exploitation of our minerals, including crude oil theft?

We are in need of true patriots who can flush these local vermin and their foreign conspirators out of our ungoverned spaces to enable us exploit these natural endowments for the good of our people. We must re-organise our security structure to close up ungoverned spaces. This is why we always clamour for true federalism and devolution of more powers.

We believe Nigeria has enough human and natural resources to become a great nation. All we need is a credible and patriotic leadership which can restore our territorial integrity. This evidence of state failure must be arrested.