A quiet Lagos supermarket chain just ignited one of Nigeria’s fiercest tribal firestorms on X.
It started with a 37-second promo video. A smiling influencer, known online as Defolah_Bby, danced while holding a bag of Garri Ijebu from Bokku Mart. Her line? “Bought this garri… without any Omo Igbo cheating me!” The clip, posted on Bokku’s official TikTok and Instagram, vanished within hours, but not before screenshots spread like wildfire.
The backlash hit on October 28. Igbo users flooded timelines with outrage, accusing the brand of weaponizing ethnic stereotypes for clicks. “Cheating” in markets has long been a tired trope aimed at Igbo traders. Bokku’s media team allegedly scripted and approved the line, insiders claim.
By evening, Defolah_Bby posted a 37-second apology video. Sitting stone-faced, she said: “I am deeply sorry for my words… I have definitely learned from this.” No mention of “Igbo.” No tears. Just a soft “thank you” and fade to black. X users dubbed it a “Hapology” half-hearted and hollow.
Click Here To Watch the Apology Video
October 29 became judgment day. Igbo Twitter, already battle-ready, rejected the apology outright. “Where is the CEO?” one viral post demanded, racking up 21,000 views in hours. Hashtags like #CancelBokkuMart trended in Lagos and Abuja. Boycott calls grew louder: delete the ad from all platforms, public CEO apology, or face empty aisles.
Bokku stayed silent. Their social pages scrubbed the video, but no official statement followed. Curiously, their follower count jumped 10,000 overnight, hate-watching, perhaps, or irony at its finest.
Defolah_Bby, a Lagos-based content creator with a modest following, became the unwilling face of the storm. Her apology video crossed 1.6 million views, but the comment section burned: “Gaslighting 101,” “Mention Igbo or it didn’t happen,” “Your PR wrote that in five minutes.”
Yoruba opinions split down the middle. Some defended the “truth in jest” angle, market haggling is universal, they argued. Others condemned the ad as reckless tribal bait. “We don’t need this kind of unity,” one user wrote.
Behind the scenes, whispers point to Bokku’s marketing team chasing viral trends. “Negative tribal hooks get shares,” a source allegedly told a freelancer. The garri bag wasn’t random, priced lower than open markets, the ad leaned into the “cheaper, no stress” narrative. But the ethnic jab crossed the line.
As of 2:00 PM on October 29, Bokku Mart has issued zero official response. Defolah_Bby disabled comments on her apology. X remains the battlefield, with fresh screenshots, voice notes, and boycott pledges dropping by the minute.
This isn’t just another brand blunder. It’s a mirror to Nigeria’s simmering ethnic tensions, played out in real time over a bag of garri. One wrong word, one deleted video, and a supermarket chain now fights for survival.
Will Bokku’s CEO break silence? Will Igbo consumers walk away for good? One thing is clear: in Nigeria’s digital jungle, a 37-second clip can topple reputations faster than any headline.
Stay tuned. The boycott is just beginning.
Comments
No comments yet. Be the first to comment!