Bokku Apologises Over Its Advert With Ethnic Slur Against The Igbo

By Gideon Njoku

Bokku Mart, a Nigerian grocery store, has come under very strong condemnation over its advert with an ethnic slur against the Igbo.

Reacting to the deluge of condemnation, Bokku, in the now deleted  video posted for advertising,  apologised to Nigerians.

The video which sparked outrage online, was posted on the grocery store’s platform.

In the video, the influencer/vlogger said: “I can get beans and Garri Ijebu at Bokku without any Omo Igbo cheating me.”

In a couple of platforms, not a few people had asked for a boycott of the Store.

One X user,  ‘Pharaoh’ in a response said: “Imagine a brand as big as Bokku Mart relying on ethnic stereotyping and slurs for marketing. The whole marketing team sat down, watched this video, approved it and not one person thought ‘without any omo Igbo cheating me’ was wrong???? You people need to do better.”

Osondu Chibuzo remarked: “People who were taught from childhood to hate the Igbo tribe. I don’t even expect @bokkumart to issue a statement on this disgraceful advertisement. Do I even patronise them? Justrite and Jendol are closer to me, and both have better customer service.”

Another user by the name, Drew, wrote: “That’s exactly what I discussed with my guy yesterday, with the way tribalism war is in this country, you guys still come up with this rubbish. Omo na wah for them sha.”

For Ola, it is: “Funniest thing, cheating is not tribal based. Those who want to cheat you will cheat you regardless of where they come from. However, this is too sensitive to put out there. Your marketing could still have been successfully done without adding the omo Igbo comment.”

Chisom Miracle wrote: “Bokku Mart is relying on  tribalism and tribalistic statements for effective marketing and sales. This will definitely backfire. Why denigrate a whole tribe to cheats and also use the convenient slur ‘omo Igbo’?”

However, Bokku Apologises when a media house, The Guardian reached out. It said: “We are sorry, very sorry. An influencer used the words and she’s been cautioned. We’ve taken it down everywhere and do not condone this at all. If anything, we are very pro Nigerian in our dealings and will never intentionally hurt any arm of what makes us a beautiful country.”