Nigeria has signed a major agreement with a Chinese arms manufacturer to build a munitions factory on Nigerian soil.
The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on Friday that the deal “covers the construction of ammunition production lines, maintenance and upgrades of military hardware, servicing of battle tanks and military engineering services,” as well as “technology transfers and training for Nigerian defense personnel.”
A memorandum of understanding (MOU) between China and Nigeria specified that Nigeria’s munitions factory will produce “7.62×51mm ball cartridges, 7.62×51mm blank cartridges, 9×19mm pistol cartridges, and machine gun ammunition.”
“While Nigeria’s Defence Ministry did not name the Chinese company in its May 6 statement, photos showed officials reviewing equipment from China North Industries Group Corporation (NORINCO), a state-owned arms manufacturer,” the SCMP added.
NORINCO has also reportedly promised to help Nigeria upgrade its air defense systems, including radar and anti-drone weapons.
Nigeria was more firmly in the Western orbit until the second term of U.S. President Barack Obama, who ignored China’s growing influence in Africa until it was much too late.
Obama scrambled in 2015 to reassure African leaders they would be better off teaming up with American than China, but those leaders found his outreach efforts half-hearted and even downright insulting.
Obama refused to meet individually with them to discuss their concerns, and they felt his tone was often condescending. The Ebola outbreak of 2014-2015 also proved to be an awkward impediment to Obama’s last-minute diplomatic outreach.
Chinese state media mocked Obama’s ineffectiveness, chortling that his windy speeches were no match for China’s massive infrastructure spending and fast-growing trade with Africa, which included massive exports of fossil fuels from oil producers like Nigeria.
Obama’s former vice president Joe Biden threw billions in aid and economic gifts to Africa, and spoke often of “resetting” relationships with African nations, but he made very little progress with African diplomacy. On the contrary, Biden’s disastrous presidency saw the United States evicted from countries like Niger and Chad. As with Obama’s fumbles in Africa, regional leaders complained about the arrogant and condescending tone of the Biden administration, and the president himself clearly projected neither strength nor competence.
In Nigeria’s case, the United States remains a major trade and investment partner with Africa’s largest democracy, but the Nigerians have been unsatisfied with U.S. security cooperation since the Obama administration – which saw the rise of Boko Haram, the savage jihadi organization and Islamic State affiliate that shocked the world by kidnapping hundreds of schoolgirls from Nigeria in 2014.
Nigeria’s former President Muhammadu Buhari said in 2015 that the Obama administration “aided and abetted the Boko Haram terrorists in the prosecution of its extremist ideology and hate” by refusing to give Nigeria the military equipment it needed to fight the jihadis.
The primary reason for this reluctance was the Leahy Laws, named after their sponsor Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), which barred the U.S. from providing military assistance to foreign security forces which have been accused of human rights violations. The Leahy Laws were made permanent by Congress in 2008 and amended in 2011.
Buhari argued that allegations of human rights violations by his security forces had never been substantiated, and in any event Boko Haram was clearly a far worse threat to human rights. Obama’s hesitance to provide military aid led the Nigerians to conclude his rhetoric about opposing Boko Haram would not be backed by serious action.
China’s sales pitch to Third World nations has always included promises not to hassle them about human rights or democracy. Nigeria struck up a growing military partnership with China in the mid-2010s. The two nations announced their relations have been upgraded to a “comprehensive strategic partnership” in April 2025.
China’s side of the partnership explicitly included military assistance for Nigeria against Boko Haram and the Islamic State. When Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Nigeria in January, he pledged Chinese assistance with training some 6,000 African counter-terrorism troops, in a program modeled on the China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure.
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