The Bolt Prank Saga: South Africa Vs Nigeria

The e-hailing service Bolt has recently blocked inter-country ride requests following a surge of prank ride requests that began after Chidimma Adetshina, a former Miss South Africa 2024 contestant, arrived in Lagos for the Miss Universe Nigeria beauty pageant. This playful yet disruptive incident has led to the suspension of several accounts and highlighted the challenges of managing a global ride-sharing platform.

The Origin of the Prank

The prank trend was sparked by a viral video featuring Adetshina expressing her excitement about competing in the Miss Universe Nigeria beauty pageant. Her presence in Lagos triggered a wave of banter on social media, with some questioning her identity and citizenship. What started as light-hearted teasing quickly escalated into a prank war between South African and Nigerian social media users.

South Africans began ordering Bolt rides in Nigeria with the sole intention of canceling them when the driver arrived. In response, Nigerians reciprocated by placing similar fake ride requests in South Africa, resulting in a tit-for-tat cycle that impacted Bolt drivers in both countries.

Bolt’s Response

Bolt responded swiftly to the situation by blocking inter-country ride requests and suspending an undisclosed number of accounts that participated in the prank. Simo Kalajdzic, Bolt’s senior operations manager, explained that the company had taken measures to prevent further fraudulent activities and to protect the interests of its driver partners. 

“Bolt is aware of the fake ride request incident between some people in Nigeria and South Africa. Following a thorough investigation and the implementation of enhanced security measures, we have addressed this issue swiftly by restricting inter-country ride requests,” Kalajdzic said.

He also emphasized Bolt's commitment to providing a safe and reliable experience for all users. Despite the ban on inter-country rides between Nigeria and South Africa, the feature remains available between other countries.

The prank had a significant impact on Bolt drivers in both countries, causing them to waste time, fuel, and money on non-existent passengers. Munyaradzi Chinyama, a Bolt driver from Zimbabwe based in Cape Town, shared his frustration with the BBC. "I received three ride requests before I realized they were not genuine. I wasted a lot of fuel, time, and money," he said.

The prank also extended to food delivery apps, with Nigerians using services like NANDO's, which has a pay-on-delivery option, to continue the prank. This further complicated the situation and added to the inconvenience faced by service providers.

While some social media users from both countries found the trend amusing, others criticized it as wasteful and unnecessary. Akeem Ojubanire, a social media user, voiced his disapproval, saying, “People are losing time and money due to these silly trends. Bolt should step in and stop this Bolt for Bolt madness between Nigeria and South Africa.”

As the dust settles on this unusual international prank war, questions remain about the power of social media to spark real-world consequences and the responsibility of platforms to prevent such incidents in the future. For now, Bolt drivers in South Africa and Nigeria can breathe a sigh of relief as the company works to restore normalcy to its operations.