Trump is not after Nigeria. He is after China.
That may sound surprising, but it helps explain why the United States recently labelled Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern for religious freedom. Many people believe this is just Western interference or another political show. However, this move is part of a much larger struggle between the United States and China, and Nigeria is caught in the middle.
After meeting the Chinese President in Tokyo, Donald Trump said little about that meeting. Instead, he began talking about killings in Nigeria, the destruction of rural communities, and rising religious violence. This sudden focus was not random. According to American intelligence, some of Nigeria’s violence is linked to China’s growing economic influence in the country.
Nigeria has valuable minerals. These include gold, columbite, tantalite, lithium and other rare earth minerals used in electric cars, smartphones, satellites and weapons. Whoever controls these resources controls future global power. China already dominates the global rare-earth market, but as its reserves at home are running out, it is turning to Africa. Nigeria, with weak laws and insecurity, is an easy target.
Illegal mining is spreading fast in Zamfara, Niger, Nasarawa, Plateau, Benue and Taraba States. Reports show that some of these operations are backed by foreign investors and protected by local militias. Villages are often attacked and emptied so that mining can begin. Residents have seen strange trucks moving at night, sometimes under military escort. These are not rumours; they are real experiences shared by people in affected areas.
Terrorism is now being used as a tool for resource control.
Groups calling themselves herders, bandits or militants are working hand in hand with illegal miners. They attack farming communities, kill or drive away the people, and then leave the land open for exploitation. Chinese middlemen and local collaborators move in to extract minerals that are secretly exported to Dubai, Hong Kong or Shanghai. The result is that foreign countries get richer while Nigerians suffer and lose their land.
When Trump speaks about the persecution of Christians in Nigeria, some believe he is simply appealing to religious voters. But he is also reacting to intelligence reports. These reports show that Nigeria’s instability is being used by foreign actors, especially China, to steal resources. The killings of thousands of Christians are not random; they are part of a wider global struggle for control of mineral wealth.
One example of this hidden agenda was the Water Resources Bill introduced during President Buhari’s government. On the surface, it seemed to be about managing Nigeria’s waterways more efficiently. But in reality, it aimed to centralize control of land and rivers that are rich in alluvial minerals. Central control would have allowed foreign companies to obtain licenses more easily, bypassing state and community resistance. Many Nigerians strongly opposed the bill, and that opposition exposed how deeply foreign mining interests had entered our government.
Imagine a U.S. intelligence briefing that says, “China is funding illegal mining in Nigeria. Minerals are being smuggled out through criminal networks. Terrorist groups are clearing farming zones to open mining fields, and the Nigerian government is failing to act.”
If Trump saw that report, his response would make sense. As a leader focused on economic nationalism and fighting Chinese influence, he would naturally act.
That is why, after meeting the Chinese President, he said little about trade or technology and instead talked about Nigeria. He was sending a message: “We know what China is doing in Nigeria, and we are watching.”
The CPC label is therefore not just about religion. It is also a diplomatic weapon. It pressures Nigeria to fight terrorism, regulate its mining sector, and cut off China’s illegal routes of mineral extraction. It also warns Beijing that America will not allow Africa’s mineral wealth to fall quietly under China’s control.
Underdevelopment in Nigeria is not an accident.
It benefits those who profit from chaos. Violence in Nigeria’s North and Middle Belt follows an economic pattern. It drives farmers from their land, weakens local resistance, and clears the way for illegal mining. In many of these areas, the victims are Christian farmers whose lands sit on mineral deposits. Their displacement, often described as “herder-farmer clashes,” allows others to steal the land’s wealth. Each truckload of unrecorded gold leaving Nigeria represents stolen riches mixed with human blood.
When Trump speaks of “Christian genocide,” it may sound exaggerated, but it captures a painful truth. What is happening in Nigeria is a combination of religion, greed and geopolitics. It is part of a global system that turns African suffering into foreign profit.
Nigeria now stands at a crossroads.
On one side is China, silent but determined to control resources. On the other side is the United States, loud and moralistic, but unwilling to lose influence. China sees Nigeria as a goldmine. America sees Nigeria as a key partner slipping away. Nigerians are trapped in between, as our country becomes a chessboard for world powers.
Our leaders have allowed this to happen. Through corruption or neglect, they have let foreign powers benefit from our insecurity. Every burnt village in Benue or Plateau, every displaced farmer in Nasarawa, every illegal mining pit in Niger is part of the same pattern — the conversion of Nigerian lives into foreign wealth.
Trump’s move should be seen as a warning, not hostility.
He is using America’s diplomatic tools to wake up Nigeria’s leaders. His statements about killings in Benue, Plateau and Southern Kaduna are not just about sympathy; they also highlight how those regions sit on mineral deposits that feed China’s industries. When he says “The persecution of Christians must stop,” he is also saying “Nigeria must stop enriching our rival through instability.”
His message, although harsh, aligns with what every patriotic Nigerian should want: a government that protects its people, its land and its resources.
Nigeria must wake up.
We cannot keep pretending our insecurity is only internal. It is being supported and exploited by foreign powers who gain from our suffering. We must act now. We need strong mining laws that stop illegal foreign operations. We need a security system that protects rural communities. And we need leaders who understand that every lost village is a step towards losing our sovereignty.
We must connect the dots from the blood on our farmlands to the gold in foreign vaults, from displaced Christian families in the Middle Belt to factories in Asia, and from failed national policies to secret mining deals signed in Abuja.
In conclusion, Trump is not targeting Nigeria. He is targeting China. Nigeria happens to be one of the main stages where this silent war is being fought. His warnings about religious killings carry both moral and strategic meaning.
As Nigerians, we should not take offence but take responsibility. Our sovereignty lies not just in our flag, but in how we defend our people, our land and our natural wealth.
If we fail to act, the quiet war between the United States and China will continue to unfold on our soil not with bombs or tanks, but through mining, smuggling and human pain.
It is time for Nigeria to wake up.
Anngu Orngu writes from Koti-Yogh, Ute, Vandeikya Local Government Area, Benue State.
Email: oranngu@gmail.com
Advise to Nigeria:
This writer seems well-informed and clear about the issue. His main message is for the Nigerian government to wake up, take responsibility and eliminate all forms of banditry and illegal mining across the country.
