Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) have become central to global debates on agricultural innovation, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where food insecurity remains a pressing concern. Nigeria, like many African countries, faces mounting pressures to modernise its agricultural sector amidst challenges linked to climate change, population growth, and scarce resources. Thus, GMOs are increasingly promoted as tools for enhancing productivity, yet they remain controversial due to concerns about health risks, farmers’ rights to indigenous seeds, and broader socio-economic implications. This paper examines the positioning of GMOs within African agricultural policy discourses, with a focus on Nigeria as a case study. It explores how media and academic narratives, often invoking themes of “deglobalisation”, reflect historical anxieties around capitalist development and state failure. The objective is to understand how communication strategies around GMOs intersect with broader development ideologies and to assess how the strategies shape public perception and policy direction. Drawing on critical discourse analysis, the paper proposes a framework that connects media narratives on GMOs with emerging African political-economic imaginary. It contrasts these discourses with China’s “New Development Thinking,” offering a comparative lens on how strategic communication reconfigures agricultural futures in the Global South. The paper argues that GMO advocacy in Africa is not only about science and food production but is also deeply entangled with contested visions of sovereignty, modernity, and economic independence. It concludes that the framing of GMOs in public discourse has significant implications for sustainable food security, agricultural policy, and Africa’s positioning in global development frameworks.