Sir: If you’re a Nigerian or South African who frequently uses social media platforms, there’s a high chance of being aware of the online hostilities between the two countries. This digital attrition of words was only possible due to the internet’s ability to shrink miles and miles of distance between geographic areas.
It is not entirely clear when this digital conflict between two famous African brothers began, but three factors are important to consider here: the migration of Nigerians to South Africa and subsequent settlement within the country; the history of socio-political relations between both nations, particularly in relation to the apartheid era; and the global cultural influences of both nations.
The latest episode in this protracted saga between Nigerians and South Africans seems to have stemmed from the Miss South Africa 2024 beauty pageant controversy featuring Chidinma Adetshina. After Chidinma was forced to withdraw from the beauty pageant due to concerns over the validity of her citizenship, Nigerians engaged in a tussle of verbal criticism and outright derision with South Africans on Facebook and Twitter.
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And just when it appeared as if tensions had cooled down, Chidinma would later be invited to participate in the Miss Universe Nigeria contest, and welcomed warmly by sympathetic Nigerians, fresh battle lines were redrawn by a South African man’s social media post. In the man’s social media post, he claimed that whenever he is bored, he requests a Bolt ride in Nigeria just to prank unsuspecting drivers. The confession, far from being met with indignation, was applauded by some of his fellow countrymen. Other South Africans began to emulate the man by ordering rides in Nigeria (particularly within Lagos) using the Bolt app.
Unfortunately, many Nigerians preferred the course of retaliation, and they too, began ordering fake rides on Bolt and other e-hailing services within South Africa’s major cities and residential zones. Within a span of several hours, things began to take a comic turn of epic proportions as hundreds of Bolt drivers in South Africa were inundated with fake ride requests that only led to hilarious exchanges on the apps. The Nigerians behind these ride requests would get unsuspecting drivers to reach certain destinations, before chatting them up in bizarre exchanges, all in the name of cruise as it is popularly known on social media.
At this point, social media banter had metamorphosed to produce real-life consequences, as innocent Bolt drivers and businesses were forced to count their losses and deal with the frustration of being caught in the crossfire of a pointless online-based war of misguided passion, tortured loyalties and sheer stupidity. After a day or two, the rate of pranks from both sides dwindled and online services like Bolt began to put measures in place to fix the loopholes which made it possible for such acts of tomfoolery to occur in the first place. At the end of it all, South Africans and Nigerians had only managed to further worsen relations and perceptions of each other they shared, contributing negatively to a long history of conflict, with this latest episode becoming just another chapter in a rivalry spanning at least three decades.
In the aftermath of the xenophobic attacks in 2019, the South African government apologised to Nigeria. But apologies are not enough, and with the state of things between our countries presently, there is a need to ensure that the basis of bilateral relations would not be totally destroyed by social media madness. The protection of immigrants and their properties and businesses must be a top priority for the South African government, as xenophobia doesn’t exactly favour perceptions of the country at the global stage. Additionally, the South African government must also address the social ills of poverty and inequality that are root causes of xenophobia. Many young black South Africans often feel deprived and marginalized economically, and when ranting on social media is not enough, violence becomes a more satisfying outlet for their grievances.
Ultimately, Nigeria and South Africa—as the top economies in Africa, must refrain from always considering each other as rivals. Rather, there should be mutual efforts to restore and cultivate peaceful relationships for the sake of progress. We cannot afford to relay hateful sentiments to coming generations. This is why we must begin working together for the sake of our continent, because sustained hostility would end up doing us more harm than good in the long run.