Bolt bans inter-country requests following prank war between Nigeria and South Africa

Bolt

Cape Town โ€” Nigerians and South Africans have engaged in a foolish Bolt prank war which has seen tensions between the two countries grow increasingly, leading to the e-hailing service banning inter-country rides.

The back and forth started with South Africans ordering Bolt rides in Nigeria and making drivers cancel the trips after they have waited for a long time. A video, which circulated on social media, showed a South African man, who ordered a ride from a Nigerian driver named Kotoro-Ola, mocking him and wasting his time, rushing him to pick him up when he was in South Africa.

Many other South Africans found the video amusing and intended to do the same – take the Nigerian Bolt drivers for a joke and cause financial harm to the drivers.

In response to the South Africans, Nigerians began adopting the same tactics and have began requesting rides from Nigeria for South African drivers, and have caused strain on South African drivers.

Nigerians have organized counteractions by gathering drivers in one place and engaging with prank riders by providing unrealistic pickup locations.

Bolt has now also restricted inter-country ride requests between the two countries since the e-hailing war has started.

According to IOL, the impact on drivers is serious. Nigerian drivers are dealing with wasted time and fuel costs because of these prank requests, especially during a fuel shortage in Nigeria.

This has led to strong reactions on social media, where Nigerians have criticized these actions and pointed out that South Africa has a higher unemployment rate than Nigeria. This retaliation has further escalated tensions between the two nations.

The growing backlash from both sides reflects the complex and often competitive relationship between Nigeria and South Africa.

This rivalry between the two countries is believed to have been escalated over the saga involving former Miss SA finalist, Chidimma Adetshina, who was under the microscope over her true nationality. She subsequently withdrew from the pageant after it was found her mother committed identity fraud. Adetshina was invited to compete in the Miss Universe Nigeria pageant.

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Compiled by Matthew Petersen

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