The latest incident of South Africa-Nigeria animosity involved the citizens of both countries ordering Bolt rides in each other’s cities and then cancelling them, causing havoc. Bolt in Nigeria swiftly took action after the pranks escalated on Thursday.
The ride-hailing service Bolt says it has restricted inter-country ride requests after a spat involving South Africans and Nigerians, in which both countries’ citizens resorted to making fake ride requests in each other’s country.
Yahaya Mohammed, Bolt Nigeria country manager, said in a statement that the company swiftly addressed the issue by implementing enhanced security measures.
“Those responsible for this malicious activity have been identified and are held accountable by blocking them from the Bolt app,” Mohammed said in the statement.
“We understand the impact this situation has had on our driver-partners in Nigeria and South Africa. We are committed to ensuring a safe, reliable and secure experience for all members of our community.”
“We understand the impact this situation has had on our driver-partners in Nigeria and South Africa,” it said in a statement.
The trouble started after some South Africans posted on the social media site X about how they had been ordering Bolt rides in Nigeria from South Africa, and then cancelling the request when the driver got to the agreed location in Nigeria.
Hours later, Nigerians retaliated by flooding the Bolt app by requesting rides in South Africa, and then cancelling them.
“South Africans are cruel with the Bolt thing they started, but you know who is also cruel? The Nigerians retaliating, because you know who is suffering at the end of the day? Innocent people trying to feed their families,” an X user, @i_am_feezah, posted.
It is unclear how this “Bolt war” started but social media users in sub-Saharan Africa’s two biggest economies have a long history of trolling each other.
“When I’m bored, I request [Bolt] in Nigeria, akere their brothers are disrespecting us,” one user said on X on Tuesday. This seems to have set off the chain of events and Nigerians swiftly retaliated.
A disgruntled Nigerian driver based in Kano told the BBC he received an order for an airport trip from an international number but the person didn’t show up.
“I tried calling and calling but they didn’t answer. Then they cancelled the trip,” he said.
He said he wasn’t the only victim. Many of his colleagues faced similar issues.
Some social media users rallied behind the drivers, saying they were just trying to make a living.
“Uber and Bolt drivers are just trying to make ends meet. They aren’t on twitter trolling anyone. They are literally trying to earn an honest living. Please leave them alone. And i’m talking to both sides,” one X user wrote.
A second person said: “The bolt challenge is paining me because it’s innocent and hardworking people on both sides that are suffering for the wickedness and thoughtlessness of other people. Really unfair.”
In Nigeria fuel prices have rocketed in recent months. Many drivers would have wasted scarce fuel picking up non-existent customers.
The “Bolt-war” also reportedly caused prices to surge in both countries, leaving many people stranded as they couldn’t afford to pay for their rides.
South Africans and Nigerians often lock horns on social media.
Tempers flared in July when South Africans and Nigerians griped at each other on social media regarding a controversy over the citizenship of Chidimma Adetshina, a 23-year-old South African model born to a Nigerian father and a South African mother with Mozambican ancestry.
Some South Africans questioned the nationality of Adetshina, who was contesting in the Miss South Africa beauty pageant. This triggered an investigation by the country’s Home Affairs department, which discovered that Adetshina’s mother had committed identity fraud to obtain South African citizenship.
Adetshina quit the South African beauty contest but was later invited to participate in a Miss Universe pageant in Nigeria, an invitation she accepted.
History of rivalry, from xenophobia to AFCON
Two of Africa’s largest economies, South Africa and Nigeria have maintained a long history of mostly bitter feuds, since the end of apartheid and the advent of democracy in the former.
Nigerians living in South Africa have been victims of the frequent xenophobic attacks in the country, with more than 116 citizens of the West African nation murdered on South African soil between February 2015 and February 2017, according to the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission.
Some Nigerians retaliated by attacking South African businesses in their country, such as the telecommunications giant MTN. Multichoice, Standard Bank and retailer Pick ‘n Pay are some of the other South African companies with a sizeable presence in Nigeria.
The attacks often snowball into diplomatic rows, the latest being in 2017 when Nigeria recalled High Commissioner in South Africa Kabiru Bala.
The rivalry also extends to music and sports. Earlier this year at the Grammy Awards, South African pop star Tyla was announced as the inaugural winner of the best African music performance over four Nigerian singers, causing upset.
At the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Côte d’Ivoire, the two countries met in the semifinal in February. That also generated an avalanche of taunts and clapbacks from their citizens on social media.
Last year, the presidents of the two countries, Cyril Ramaphosa and Bola Tinubu, met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, promising constructive political and business collaboration moving forward.
