The long-standing rivalry between Nigeria and South Africa has taken a new twist. The ongoing rivalry between the two African nations, which often clash over matters like music and football, appears to have no end in sight. In the latest development, Nigerians woke up to find South Africa trending on Nigeria’s X (formerly Twitter) platform.
This time, the issue revolves around the ride-hailing service, Bolt. In a provocative attempt to spite Nigerians, humiliate Nigerian drivers, and cause disruption, some South Africans were said to have been ordering Bolt rides in Nigeria from South Africa, only to cancel the order when the driver arrived at the agreed location. A trending video on X features a South African man, alongside others, mocking a Nigerian driver, Kotoro-Ola, after cancelling a ride he had ordered with him.
In addition to the video, several screenshots of South Africans ordering Bolt rides in Nigeria from their country, solely to stress and cause financial loss to Nigerian drivers, have surfaced online. This development comes at a time when fuel price is on the rise in Nigeria, coupled with high food inflation. Some Nigerians on social media have described the development as a new level of pettiness, calling it the height of joblessness and hatred taken too far.
Reacting to the situation, an X user, @AjeboDanny, tweeted , “South Africans keep telling Nigerians to leave their country and go back home, yet they decide to harass the Bolt drivers who are back home. South Africans don’t hate Nigerians because they’re in their country; they just hate that Nigerians are doing better than them.” However, some Nigerians have started returning the favour by also ordering Bolt rides in South Africa from Nigeria and cancelling them later on.
This is not the first time the two countries have been at odds on social media. Recently, the Chidimma Adetshina beauty pageant controversy further strained relationships between Nigeria and South Africa. Chidimma, a South African citizen with Nigerian roots, was forced to withdraw from the Miss South Africa competition due to questions about her nationality, sparking accusations of xenophobia and discrimination.
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