Online feud between South Africa and Nigeria trigger Bolt restrictions
What started as a dispute over the national identity of Chidimma Adetshina, a former Miss South Africa contestant, has escalated into a disruptive online feud between South African and Nigerian social media users, leading to significant inconveniences for drivers of the ride-hailing app Bolt.
The controversy sparked a "bolt for bolt" trend on Twitter, where users from both countries began booking and cancelling rides in each other's nations as a prank. This social media rivalry has created chaos for Bolt drivers, who are now grappling with wasted trips and lost fuel.
The prank appears to have originated from a South African Twitter user who posted, "When I'm bored, I request [Bolt] in Nigeria, akere their brothers are disrespecting us." This quickly triggered a retaliatory response from Nigerian users, resulting in a surge of fake ride requests across both countries.
One driver in Cape Town recounted his experience: "I drove from Cape Town to Stellenbosch to pick up a customer only to realize it was a fake request. That’s almost 50km worth of fuel gone because of internet jokes."
Similarly, a Lagos-based driver expressed frustration, saying, "This is inconsiderate to our plight. At a time when fuel is scarce and expensive, no reasonable person should be doing this."
An X user with the handle @i_am_feezah wrote, “South Africans are cruel with the Bolt thing they started, but you know what 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.”
Bolt takes action
To protect its drivers and genuine customers, Bolt has implemented restrictions on "inter-country" ride requests between Nigeria and South Africa.
Yahaya Mohammed, Country Manager for Bolt Nigeria, confirmed the action in a statement to Techpoint Africa, saying, "Bolt is aware of the fake ride request incident between some individuals in Nigeria and South Africa. We have taken measures to resolve the issue, particularly for our driver-partners in both countries. The integrity and safety of our platform is our utmost priority."
These restrictions aim to prevent further disruptions and ensure that drivers can continue to operate without being affected by the online feud.
