1、 Introduction

We discussed the historical background of China Africa relations, particularly China's role and evolution in railway construction in Africa. It points out the criticism of China's activities in Africa by Western media and politicians, as well as the rebuttal of this by Chinese media and scholars. The chapter emphasizes the importance of local African media and public awareness of China, criticizes the tendency in existing literature to overlook African subjectivity, and proposes the necessity of studying Nigerian media's reporting on Chinese railway projects. The study selected 100 reports from five mainstream English media outlets in Nigeria as samples to explore how African media presents railway construction issues and how these reports reflect the power struggles of social groups within African countries.

2、 Railway as the 'Agenda': Presentation of Issues in Nigerian Media

We discussed in detail the media coverage of Chinese funded railway projects in Nigeria, particularly the Akka and Rai railways. These two railways represent China's "all Chinese elements" modern standard gauge railways in Africa, with financing, technology, and operational support provided by China. The study analyzed four main topics of media attention in Nigeria: national planning and regional cooperation, debt issues, development effectiveness, and government actions.

3、 Railways as Prisms: Nigeria's Media Ecology and Power Game

In depth exploration of Nigerian media coverage of Chinese railway projects revealed the consensus on national planning and regional cooperation issues, as well as the divergent views on debt issues, development effectiveness, and government actions. This differentiation reflects the contradictions and differences within Nigeria's internal social groups, and poses an unavoidable challenge to the "China in Africa" issue in Nigeria and other African countries. By analyzing the political environment, media system, and news culture of Nigeria's media ecology, this study explains the driving forces that influence the practice of media discourse in Nigeria and deeply understands the power struggles of internal social groups in the country.

4、 The Railway as a 'Medium': Conclusion and Discussion

This chapter analyzes the media coverage of Chinese railway projects in Nigeria and reveals four main topics: national planning and regional cooperation, debt issues, development effectiveness, and government actions. On the issues of national planning and regional cooperation, the media have more consistent views, and believe that railway construction is a national demand and realistic choice. The choice of China's cooperation is based on the "the Belt and Road" initiative and the development vision of Nigeria and African regional organizations. Nigeria enhances its international discourse power through railway network construction, reflecting the efforts of individuals to participate in international affairs and the competitive consciousness among African countries. However, on issues such as debt, development effectiveness, and government actions, media reports reflect the polarization of stakeholders' viewpoints and positions, reproducing the narrative of the ruling authorities while expressing concerns and doubts from different political forces such as opposition, non-governmental organizations, scholars, and the media, challenging government authority. The "consensus and differentiation" of media discourse in Nigeria reflects the power struggle and discourse construction of domestic social groups, influenced by political environment, media system, and news culture. In terms of political environment, after democratization in Nigeria, party divisions and differences in governance concepts are reflected in the debate over debt issues. In terms of media system, after the media liberalization reform, the government is supervised, but most media ownership is manipulated by the government and business, which may become a tool for power games. In terms of news culture, the ruling authorities have strengthened news regulations to build a news culture that promotes development and dissemination, and to leverage the role of media in national development. The Nigerian government has attempted to integrate the media into the country's development path, but has faced criticism for "suppressing press freedom" due to the infiltration of Western neoliberalism and the intensification of multiple domestic conflicts. A deep understanding of the media ecology in African countries such as Nigeria is of great value for international communication, deepening China Africa cooperation, and jointly resisting Western hegemony.