“Bolt for bolt” is a phrase that typically refers to doing something with meticulous precision, ensuring every detail is accounted for, much like assembling machinery with every bolt in its exact place. However, this phrase has taken on a new, more combative meaning in a recent Twitter challenge that has sparked a cross-border feud between South Africans and Nigerians.
This “bolt for bolt” challenge centers around users from both countries exploiting the Bolt ride-hailing app in a back-and-forth series of pranks and retaliations. It all began when some South Africans started pranking Nigerian drivers by booking rides through the Bolt app in Nigeria, despite still being in South Africa. These pranksters would cancel the rides just as the drivers arrived at the pickup locations, leaving the Nigerian drivers stranded and wasting their time.
In response, Nigerians began doing the same to South African drivers, ordering rides and canceling them at the last minute. The situation escalated as Nigerians increasingly targeted South African drivers, returning the inconvenience and frustration with interest.
The tension was further amplified by differences in the cancellation policies between the two countries. In South Africa, canceling a ride incurs a fee, meaning South Africans who participated in the pranks were hit with charges. In contrast, ride cancellations in Nigeria are free, allowing Nigerians to cancel rides without any financial penalty. This disparity in costs fueled the feud, turning it into an “all-out war” between users from both nations.
Some Nigerians even took the conflict a step further by encouraging others to download South African local ride-hailing apps like Huma Drive or Shima, using VPNs to appear as if they were in South Africa. The goal was to continue the cycle of pranks and “press the neck” of South Africans, intensifying the digital sabotage.
Unfortunately, this back-and-forth has real-world consequences. Both Nigerian and South African drivers suffer financially from these pranks, losing money and wasting valuable time as a result of canceled rides. However, the conflict reached a peak when Nigerians managed to create a massive Bolt surge in Cape Town and Johannesburg. By flooding the system with bogus ride requests, they rendered most South Africans stranded due to the unavailability of drivers and the skyrocketing prices of the few rides available.
In this digital tug-of-war, Nigerians ultimately emerged as the victors, having successfully disrupted the ride-hailing service in major South African cities, leaving many South Africans stranded or facing exorbitant fares. This “bolt for bolt” challenge serves as a stark reminder of how digital tools can be weaponized in ways that have significant, and often unintended, real-world consequences.