The way history uncovered it, the freedom from apartheid rule that South Africa enjoys in the present day wouldn’t have materialised without the influence of Nigeria pushing for the other’s emancipation in the hands of a few whites. Yet, as the older generation of South Africans makes way for younger blood, that bond seems broken following fictitious taxi ride requests recorded in the countries.

In 2024 alone, South Africa and Nigeria contested against each other for supremacy at the 2023 African Cup of Nations hosted by Cote D’Ivoire, likewise, the citizens of both nations, weighed in on which side had the best representation at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards.

Sports and music-wise, the two countries could be considered as currently having a draw in the current year, hence a further escalation to requesting fake Bolt rides by both sides to probably find a winner.

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So who has suffered the most casualties from this clash of titans? That appears to be the taxi drivers expecting to transport passengers from designated pick-up stations, but they have several requests cancelled.

For the most part, the rivalry between the citizens of these countries is largely seen as unnecessary since the world sees them as brothers.

It is because when former South African president, Nelson Mandela – now deceased – gained liberation from prison on 11 February 1990, one of the countries he thanked afterwards was Nigeria for its role in mounting international pressure towards his release. But 34 years from this moment in history, all has been forgotten it seems.

On the X platform, this week, South Africans and Nigerians have been attacking themselves and promising each other that their banter isn’t over. In South Africa, residents described getting goods they didn’t order at their doorsteps although that hasn’t stopped most from backing out of a retaliation.

Question for Nigerians & South Africans. What in your opinion has caused this hatred amongst both nations? I want to know how the history started, why do you think you despise each other?, an X profile MidJourney asks.

One reply the user got centred on Nigerians being responsible for the drug trafficking problems that people are facing in South Africa but this has also been disputed. In the past, there were sporadic xenophobic attacks in the country, which prompted the immediate past President of Nigeria Mohammadu Buhari to fly out there in October 2019 to have discussions with his counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa.

Things slightly went back to being calm after this with both leaders committing to stronger ties in a joint communique. But peace between these countries, it seems, will never be permanent and all can be traced to February when both sides met on the Afcon pitch. Nigeria ended up as the triumphant team after a round of spot-kicks that yielded 4-2.

No South African was pleased with losing to a rival and so the confrontation continued on the Grammys 2024 stage when all four Nigerian nominees, including Burna Boy, lost out to South African girl power, Tyla.

The latter, a 22-year-old had won the Best African Music Performance award because of her song, Water. It means a sense of loss on the Nigerian side will remain fresh until some balance has been reached.

Making several unwarranted Bolt ride orders from Nigeria is how some think they can achieve that, and so because of this, there is no telling when there will be a truce. As past experiences have shown, a consensus will always come even if it is short-lived.

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Ayodele Johnson

Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.