A Preemptive Blow Shatters the Moroccan Regime’s Dreams

With Algeria’s announcement of the launch of construction works on the new section of the trans-Saharan Algeria–Nigeria gas pipeline through Niger, the Moroccan regime’s propaganda surrounding its own alleged project has effectively reached its end. A preemptive strike is often decisive, and that is precisely what happened on Thursday, June 4.

For a considerable period, media outlets aligned with the Moroccan regime have been immersed in a sea of propaganda, portraying a hypothetical project—known as the Morocco–Nigeria gas pipeline, intended to transport gas from southern Nigeria through 14 problem-ridden countries along Africa’s western coast to Europe—as a viable undertaking. This was despite repeated assertions by most independent experts that promoting such a project served purposes far removed from its actual substance, namely distracting the Moroccan people from issues such as poverty, unemployment, declining purchasing power, and political stagnation.

The groundbreaking ceremony took place in the Aoulef region of Adrar Province (southern Algeria), attended by Energy Minister Mohamed Arkab, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas) Ekperikpe Ekpo, Niger’s Minister of Petroleum Hamadou Téné, and Sonatrach CEO Noureddine Daoudi. Their participation was intended to demonstrate that the Algerian project is progressing on the ground rather than existing merely on TV coverage, newspapers, or across social media discussions, as is allegedly the case with the Moroccan project.

The attendance of representatives from both Nigeria and Niger at this historic inauguration ceremony conveyed a clear message to the Moroccan side: there is only one project currently moving forward, and it has already begun in the source country itself. The Moroccan regime has long attempted to associate Nigeria into its own proposed project, desperately creating confusion around the genuine initiative to undermine or overshadow the competing Algerian initiative. The recent developments now expose the weakness of Morocco’s narrative and propaganda, echoing the old Arabic proverb: “The rope of lies is short.”

The question now arising in the minds of those who were misled by what the Moroccan regime’s disinformation campaign is: how will the royal palace explain to its citizens that the Algeria–Nigeria trans-Saharan gas pipeline is advancing toward realization while the Morocco–Nigeria project remains, as it began, nothing more than an illusion?

As usual, the Moroccan palace and its circle will likely persist in misleading the Moroccan public, whether by financing commissioned studies praising the importance of the project or by circulating reports claiming that some obscure bank is ready to fund it, given the lack of prospects for Moroccan government financing. However, Algeria’s decision to begin construction and finance the section crossing Niger will make it increasingly difficult to sustain the Moroccan propaganda,